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I      I   Covars  damagad/ 


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d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
iliustrent  le  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA 


V 


asctiSifia:... 


7 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA 


BY 


ALEXIS  DE  TOCQUEVILLE 


TRANSLATION  BY  HENRY  REEVE,  AS  RE- 
VISED  AND  ANNOTATED  PROM  THE  AU- 
THOR'S  LAST  EDITION  BY  FRANCIS  BOWEN 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION 
BY 

DANIEL  C.  OILMAN,  LL.  D. 

i>BB8IDBNT  C  JOHNS  HOPKINS  DNIVBRSITY 


VOLUME  I. 


Q  0 


NEW  YORK 
THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1898 


IS3S 


t  ■  - 

«  I  • 
*  I  f 


•  •  • 

« 

tat 


1..' 


« *  • 
t  •  • 


•    IB 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1862,  by 

John   Bartlett. 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


Copyright,  1898,  by  The  Century  Co. 


PUBLISHERS'  NOTE 


In  the  eventful  years  since  De  Tocauevillfi's  "  n. 
m     n       S"™™n«'°t  '•>  democracies   has  remained 

The  translation  here  given  is  that  by  Henry  Reeve  thA 
anthor's  fnend,  a.  revised  and  annotated  by  Proi:es  or 

M  and  Tr-  J^-  ^""^"'^  ^"''^  ™«  "i"»te  and  c^ 
fnl,  and  the  few  foot-notes  that  he  thought  essential  tTa 

m  1862.     These  notes  are  marked  ''Am.  Ed»    Furthpr 

im  .^"""J™"""'''  ^Peech'foretelling  the  Eevolntion  of 
S  sS  :f  tl'''^"  v™"^  '"  Switzerland;'  andVr 

msident  0,,  man's  Introdnction  to  the  « Democracy  » 
wall  be  appreciated  by  political  students  for  its  S 

indl'd  Whiff ''%''"''"^^"« -*'•''  -'•-  »-  that  is 
maoised  by  his  family,-a  Bibliographical  Note  and  an 

Index  g.ve  completeness  to  the  p«sent  pnblicatL 


1 257^"' 


I, 


a 


I  have  frequently  remarked  that  the  best  accounts  of  complex 
states  of  things,  whether  political  or  otherwise,  have  generally  been 
given,  at  least  at  first,  by  intelligent  foreigners :  as,  Sir  William 
Temple's  account  of  the  Netherlands;  Basnage's  account  of  the 
same  republic ;  De  Lolme's  of  the  British  Constitution ;  De  Tocque- 
ville's  of  American  Democracy,  Arthur  Young's  of  Agriculture  and 
of  the  Administration  of  Old  France.  This  remark  finds  its  applica- 
tion even  in  history.  Niebuhr  saw  many  relations  of  early  Rome 
clearer  and  truer  than  Livy  or  even  Cicero. -Dr.  Francis  Libber. 

The  importance  of  M.  de  Tooqueville's  speculations  is  not  to  bo 
estimated  by  the  opinions  which  he  has  adopted,  be  these  true  or 
false.     The  value  of  his  work  is  less  in  the  conclusions  than  in  the 
mode  of  arriving  at  them.    He  has  applied,  to  the  greatest  question 
in  the  art  and  science  of  government,  those  principles,  and  the 
methods  of  philosophizing,  to  which  mankind  are  indebted  for  all  the 
advances  made  by  modem  times  in  the  other  branches  of  the  study 
of  nature.     It  is  not  risking  too  much  to  affirm  of  these  volumes, 
that  they  contain  the  first  analytical  inquiry  into  the  influence  of  De- 
mocracy.    For  the  first  time,  that  phenomenon  is  treated  of  as  some- 
thing which,  being  a  reality  in  nature,  and  no  mere  mathematical  or 
metaphysical  abstraction,  manifests  itself  by  innumerable  proper- 
ties, not  by  some  one  only ;  and  must  be  looked  at  in  many  aspects 
before  it  can  be  made  the  subject  even  of  that  modest  and  conjec- 
tural judgment  which  is  alone  attainable  respecting  a  fact  at  once 
so  great  and  so  new.     Its  consequences  are  by  no  means  to  be  com- 
prehended in  one  single  description,  nor  in  one  summary  verdict 
of  approval  or  condemnation.     So  complicated  and  endless  are  their 
ramifications  that  he  who  sees  furthest  into  them  will  longest  hesi- 
tate before  finally  pronouncing  whether  the  good  or  the  evil  of  its 
influence,  on  the  whole,  preponderates.— John  Stuart  Mill. 

Next  to  Aristotle's  Politics,  I  account  this  the  most  valuable 
political  book  in  my  library.— John  Stuart  Blackie. 


INTRODUCTION 


THE  interest  in  politics  now  shown  throughout  the 
United  States  by  young  men  of  education  and  char- 
acter is  one  of  the  best  developments  of  Democracy  in 
America.  With  rare  exceptions,  they  no  longer  stand  aloof 
from  active  participation  in  local  and  national  contests. 
Not  since  the   civil  war,  when  the  bravest   and  best 
brought  their  discussions  to  the  final  decision  of  the 
battle-field  and  fought  out  to  the  bitter  end  that  which 
they  had  thought  out  and  talked  out,  in  the  North  and 
in  the  South, —  not  since  the  deaths  of  Lincoln  and  Lee 
closed  the  gi'eat  campaign,  has  there  been  such  a  mani- 
festation of  intelligent  patriotism  as  that  now  shown  in 
support  of  the  fundamental  doctrines  which  underlie  the 
institutions  of  the  republic.    Serious  discussions  multi- 
ply.   The  participants  are  those  who  control  the  finan- 
cial, industrial,  and  mercantile  activities  of  the  country, 
as  well  as  those  whose  pursuits  are  connected  with  the 
law,  the  press,  and  the  college.    The  old  party  lines  of 
separation  and  controversy  are  disappearing.    The  new 
lines  are  not  yet  distinctly  drawn.    Consequently,  in- 
stead of  taking  the  form  of  partizan  enthusiasm,  this 
political  activity  is  vigorous  in  its  independence.    Doc- 
trinaires are  not  of  much  account.    If  there  are  no  great 
orators  like  those  of  fifty  years  ago,  when  Clay,  Webster, 
and  Calhoun  were  acknowledged  leaders,  there  are  multi- 
tudes of  good  writers  and  speakers  in  every  part  of  the 
country.    If  there  is  no  single  issue,  like  slavery,  by 
which  the  national  parties  are  divided ;  no  administrative 


VI 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


I 

I 
i 


reform,  like  that  of  the  Civil  Service,  on  which  attention 
must  be  concentrated,  vigorous  and  wide-spread  efforts 
are  making  to  secure  a  fairer  show  for  the  wishes  of  the 
people,  to  foster  a  revolt  afirainst  the  machinery  by  which 
elections  are  controlled,  and  to  overthrow  those  leaders 
who  endeavor  to  perpetuate  their  own  ascendancy  or  that 
of  their  party  by  disreputable  bargains  and  artful  eva- 
sions. Dissatisfaction  with  the  actual  workings  of  the 
government  is  apparent,  combined  with  confidence  in  its 
ultimate  recuperative  powers.  Not  infrequently  nay  be 
heard  the  cry  of  despair,  an  apprehension  that  democracy 
in  America  has  proved  a  failure,  and  that  the  nations  of 
the  world  should  take  warning  from  our  example.  It 
seems  to  some  as  if  the  golden  days  of  the  republic  were 
patit,  and  that  sooner  or  later  it  must  end  in  anarchy  or 
monarchy  —  the  rule  of  the  populists,  or  the  permanence 
of  "  the  boss."  On  the  other  hand,  in  support  of  those 
principles  which  the  experience  of  mankind  has  proved 
good,  in  the  rejection  of  those  which  are  fraught  with 
danger,  hosts  of  educated  young  men  are  engaged,  who 
aspire  to  no  oflice,  who  seek  no  personal  gains,  who  swear 
by  no  master,  but  who  are  deeply  concerned  in  every 
election,  and  can  be  counted  on  to  take  the  right  attitude,, 
with  unselfishness  and  in  unconsciousness,  toward  every 
public  question.  They  have  learned  one  of  the  impor- 
tant lessons  of  political  history  —  that  great  reforms 
make  slow  progress,  although  the  last  act  of  the  drama 
is  often  surprisingly  sudden.  They  believe  that  in  the 
long  run  the  convictions  of  a  virtuous  and  intelligent 
people  can  be  trusted.  They  have  faith  in  political 
education ;  and  consequently  they  never  despair  of  the 
republic.  They  see  its  errors  and  its  perils ;  they  trust 
its  conscience  and  good  Sv3nse.    All  this  is  hopeful. 

Nor  is  this  all.  It  is  propitious  that  now,  more  than  in 
previous  times,  the  so-called  producing  classes  are  en- 
gaged in  political  discussions.  They  seek  for  informa- 
tion.   They  read,  they  listen,  they  talk.     They  may  be 


INTEODUC 


vu 


misled  by  fluent  and  sophistitfni  i.  ^  ^ 
trusted  to  abandon  the  Zf !  '^^''^  ^"*  ^^^^  ^^7  be 
tim.  Political  clnbr^XT^"^  ^^'"  *^^^  ^^«««^«^ 
libraries  are  estaWiL^;  ^r  ?"''  ^^P'^'^^'  ^^^^in^ 
widely  ciranlaW^^f^r^^^^ry  large  town.   Thf 

social  questioii^XS  '^'*'  "^"'^  ^^^^^ti^n  to 

"bc38.-.   y^     ^  "^'^  '^^"^^^  «r  later  revolt  against  a 

J^eriving  instruction  from  rsuTvlv  J^i!  ^''''^*  ^^^ 

«^the  United  States  by  IZeVnlZ     *^V"'*^*"*^""^ 

/Fell-trained  in  history  Ldnolil    .  "■'  ^^^^^"^^^bted, 

taking.    By  repS  wf  ^' ^''■■°''°*^^^  ^«<^  Pains- 

tance  with  this  country  which  ^  '    ^  '"^f  ^^  ^"^"^i^' 
not  so  much  in  the  lifLit  f  ."marvel  of  accuracy, 

communities  and':t'ly^^^^^^  '^  ^^-t 

be  is  a  good  observer)  a^n  ft  ^^  *bough  of  these 

tics,  manners,  nlZTZ  cn.t         T*'""^^  characteris- 
be  easily  ^l^^n.e^ZZ^^^^  -«*^<^  t. 

as  sectional  or  local.  distributed  to  be  regarded 

Sixty  years  before  Mr   Brvcp  «..«fi,      t^ 

serve,  equally  s^^ior^' ^^Z^t^  ^'^T  ""- 
interested  in  the  nhil,>»„r.i.    ""'^^fra'ng.  more  strongly 

Democracy  an  X'errporf  ""'''"'''  """"'  <"  ^t^-^/o^ 
of  De  ToequertirhrheM^f    ^^'°'™'^°''^*''«t'-«''««e 

criticism  of  republtan  W.  .•'"™  ^  "  "^'scriminating 
penod  it  has  be:"^;"^  ulr-  ?"™^  '"'^  ^'^ 
United  States,  by  the  hiXff  I  rf-  ?  ^""P"  ^'"i  >°  'he 
been  read  as  a  textbook  ^;tr'f''''''/"*orities ,  "  ^'^^ 
it  is  quite  sure  to  be  fotnd  n     ^  f  '""^  «"i™'-«ties ,  and 

lawyers,  and  states^er" 'Cgh  iUot*'!,^  "'  ^'°^' 
directions,  it  has  been  .,  w  7  ,  contained  no  sailing 
of  the  ship  of  State  I'^u  h  ">  ^^  ""^'"^  the  pilo! 
si.oa,s,  liAousrandt^o'^s-rrXV'ir^  ""'' 
the  best  philosophical  disc„ssion"'„rSocr:e~! 


VUl 


DEMOCEAd^r  IN  AMERICA. 


trated  by  the  experience  of  ^be  United  States,  up  to  the 
time  when  it  was  written,  wI>^ioh  can  be  found  in  any 

language.  ^^ 

More  than  this  is  true.    Notwiii^standing  the  changes 
which  have  occurred  in  the  materiaKand  social  circura- 
stances  of  the  United  States  during  the\J^t  sixty  years, 
the  consequent  elimination  of  certain  factors   in  the 
civilization  of  this  country,  and  the  introductlta  of  new 
and  unforeseen  problems,—  notwithstanding  all  K  Ws,  the 
student  of  modern  popular  government  must  revert  to 
Tocqueville.    James  Bryce  is  a  good  illustration  of  tN^  ~ 
statement.     So  is  Lecky,  whose  admirable  study  of  D 
mocracy  and  Liberty  shows  his  use  of  the  French  memoir 
More  noteworthy  perhaps,  more  recent  certainly,  are  the 
careful  and  suggestive  studies  of  France  by  J.  E.  C. 
Bodley,  an  English  writer  long  resident  in  the  country 
he  describes,  and  acquainted  with  leaders  of  literature 
and  politics.    From  the  opening  sentences  of  this  work, 
where  the  methods  of  Arthur  Young  and  De  Tocqueville 
are  compared,  onward  through  two  octavo  volumes,  the 
"  Democracy  in  America  "  was  apparently  in  the  writer's 
hands.    Indeed,  his  study  of  France  since  the  Revolution 
is  a  serviceable  commentary  on  De  Tocqueville's  instruc- 
tions and  apprehensions.    Henri  Michel,  a  professor  in 
the  Lyc6e  Henri  I^^  of  Paris,  may  likewise  be  cited.i    De- 
mocracy, he  says,  was  revealed  to  De  Tocqueville  in  Amer- 
When  his  work  appeared,  Democracy  was  to  some 


ica. 


an  "ideal,"  a  "brilliant  dream";  to  others,  " ruin,  an- 
archy, robbery,  murder."  De  Tocqueville  wished  to  lessen 
the  fears  of  the  latter,  the  ardor  of  the  former  class.  He 
treats  Democracy  as  a  fact. 

II 

In  presenting  to  a  third  generation  of  readers  that  per- 
ennial work  which  instructed  their  fathers  and  grand- 
1  Michel,  "L'Id6e  de  I'fitat,"  chap.  iii.  (Paris,  1895,  8vo). 


■mHMI 


INTRODUCTION. 


IS 


fathers,  it  is  worth  while  to  describe  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  "Democracy  in  America"  was  written 
and  the  reception  accorded  to  it  in  Europe  and  America  at 
the  time  of  its  first  appearance.    Fortunately,  the  veil 
of  reserve  with  which  the  author  covered  his  original 
data  disappeared  at  his  death.    The  surviving  members 
ot  his  family  soon  afterward  pubUshed  a  part  of  his 
notes  and  letters.    Two  volumes  of  "  Correspondance  In- 
^dite"  appeared  in  1860,  and  a  third  came  out  a  few 
years  later.    From  these  and  other  sources,  the  itinerary 
ot  the  author  may  be  reconstructed,  and  the  names  of 
many  whom  he  consulted  may  be  ascertained  with  cer- 
tainty.    We  may  go  with  him  on  his  prolonged  journey 
Ihere  is  reason  to  believe  that  there  are  other  data  in  the 
possession  of  the  family  not  yet  printed.    So  says  his 
most  recent  French  biographer,  M.  d'Eichthal.    But  we 
have  aU  that  is   requisite  for  an  introduction   to  De 
locqueviUe's  American  studies. 

One  May  day  in  1831,  two  young  Frenchmen  of  the 
old  noblesse,  who  had  been  tossing  about  the  south  shore 
ot  Long  Island  for  several  days  in  the  packet-boat  Havre 
were  landed  in  Newport.     Thence  they  were  carried  by 
the  Providence  steamboat  to  Xew  York,  where  they  found 
lodgings  in  a  boarding-house  on  Broadway.    The  Astor 
House  was  not  yet  opened.     The  strangers  were  not 
much  pleased  with  the  looks  of  the  city.    One  of  them 
writes  that  there  is  "  no  dome,  nor  bell  tower,  nor  large 
buildmg.     The  houses  are  of  bricks  and  are  quite  mo- 
notonous, no  cornices,  nor  balustrades,  nov  porte-cocMres. 
1  he  streets  are  unpaved ;  but  there  are  sidewalks."    Then 
the  language  was  a  great  plague.    "  We  thought  we 
knew  English  in  Paris,"  says  the  same  correspondent 
•as  boys  think  they  know  everything  when  they  leave 
college;  but  we  have  quickly  discovered  our  error.    No- 
body here  speaks  French  -  so  we  are  forced  to  use  Eng- 
lish.   It  IS  a  pity  to  hear  us,  but  we  make  ourselves 
understood,  and  we  understand  everything."  They  found 


X 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


A 


4/ 


I'A  4,       ^    I  and  a 
!'^    J-         I  them, 


1^ 


/ 


^^ 


\?!^v' 


the  usages  of  society  rather  queer.    People  breakfasted 
together  at  eight  o'clock,  dined  at  three,  and  at  seven 
drank  tea  with  which  they  ate  a  little  janibon.  Afterward 
they  took  supper,  and   sometimes  they  had  luncheon. 
Ladies  came  to  the  breakfast  table  dressed  for  the  day. 
It  was  proper  to  make  a  social  call  as  early  as  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning.     These  and  many  other  observa- 
ions  were  recorded  in  their  letters  home. 
These  visitors  were  Alexis  de  Tocqueville  and  Gustave 
J''   de  Beaumont,  young  men  of  talent  and  education,  and  of 
Jlj     i,  agreeable  manners.     They  bore  a  commission  from  the 
fl^*  '/French  government  to  study  the  prison  systems  of  the 
I  United  States,  and  this  announcement  was  duly  made  in 
'/  /the  newspapers.    Everybody  Avas  ready  to  receive  and 
them.    Ever*  aoor  was  thrown  open.     The  Mayor 
aldermen  —  some  five-and-twenty  in  number  —  took 
ceremoniously,  to  visit  the  prisons  and  charitable 
institutions  of  the  city,  after  which  there  was  a  dinner 
which  the  travelers  called  "  immense."    Sometimes  they 
laughed,  they  say,  dans  la  harbe,  to  think  what  insignifi- 
cant men  they  were  at  home,  and  what  great  men  they 
were  abroad ;  but  they  carried  themselves  with  dignity 
and^  courtesy,  and  established  good_relations  with  the 
(b^s££iiig£ns|    After  a  few  days  they  visited  Sing  Sing, 
in  order  to  become  acquainted  with  the  penitentiary,  and 
afterward  Auburn,  Wethersfleld,  and  Philadelphia,  where 
there  were  noteworthy  prisons.    In  due  time,  their  report 
upon  this  subject  was  made  up,  and  printed,  and  given 
to  the  world.    It  attracted  attention  in  France,  and  was 
translated  into  English  by  Dr.  Francis  Lieber,  and  into 
German  by  Dr.  Julius  of  Hamburg.     Nevertheless,  this 
work  sinks  into  temporary  and  subordinate  importance 
when  compared  with  that  other  memoir  which  was  the 
fruit  of  this  journey.     "  You  may  think,"  writes  Alexis 
to  his  father,  *^  that  the  penitentiary  system  is  the  only 
thing  which  occupies  us.    Not  at  all.    There  are  a  thou- 
sand things.    We  have  really  had  but  one  idea  —  to  un- 


% 


i!fv 


f?#W;< 


INTRODUCTION. 


XI 


p..  v..  „„„  x,*^«o.  xixot,  tuau  luis  people  IS  one  of  the 
sappiest  m  the  world ;  second,  that  its  immense  prosper-   i    ^ 
ity  IS  due  not  so  much  to  peculiar  virtues  or  to  its  iorm4K  ^* 
ot  government,  as  to  the  peculiar  conditions  in  whickl^   ^a^ 
It  IS  placed."    -  They  have  here  the  most  colorless  enioyTT^   ^^' 


derstand  the  country  where  we  are  traveling.  Knowing 
what  we  wish  to  ask,  the  slightest  interviews  are  instruc 
tive  and  we  can  truly  say  that  there  is  no  one  of  any 
rank  who  cannot  teach  us  something."  In  the  course  of 
the  first  month,  continues  De  Tocqueville,  ''I  am  at  pres- 
ent full  of  two  ideas :  first,  that  this  people  is  one  of  the  /IV^  I  a  f*- 
happiest  in  the  world ;  second,  that  its  immense  Drosner-    i     )a  "^ic 

-~^™..^...         ^,xcj  iiavo  uere  me  most  colorless  eniov-    /.^        i" 
ment  that  can  be  imagined,"  ^  is  one  of  his  phrases,  quoted  *^  >^  ^ 
t)y  Longfellow,  long  afterward,  with  apparent  amuse- 
ment.    The  letters  of  De  Tocqueville  are  appreciative, 
pnilosophical,  critical,  not  by  any  means  rose-colored 

After  having  a  very  good  time  in  the  social  circles  of 
JNew  York  and  its  neighborhood  for  a  period  of  five  or 
SIX  weeks,  the  two  friends  went  to  the  west,  by  the  wav 
ot  Albany  and  the  Mohawk  valley.  Utica,  Syracuse 
Auburn,  and  Canandaigua  were  the  principal  places  that 
tiiey  visited  before  arriving  at  Buffalo. 

They  made  a  detour  to  Seneca  Lake,  in  order  to  verify 
a  romantic  story  in  respect  to  an  exiled  Frenchman.  From 
iiuffalo  they  were  carried  by  a  steamer  to  Detroit     An 
excursion  into  the  wilderness,  the  "  desert,"  as  they  called 
It  beyond  Detroit  and  Pontiac,  gave  the  travelers  a  gUmpse 
ot  the  frontier- the  settlements  of  the  pioneers  and  the 
wigwams  of  the  Indians.    Then  they  made  a  tour  of  the 
lakes,  by  steamboat,  going  as  far  as  Green  Bay  and  re- 
turnmg  to  Detroit  and  Buffalo.     Of  course  Niagara  FaUs 
were  visited.    The  survivals  of  French  institutions  were 
examined  in  Montreal  and  Quebec.     Then  the  young 
Frenchmen  went  to  Boston  by  the  way  of  Lake  Cham 
plain  and  Albany.     The  Boston  and  Worcester  railroad 
was  not  finished  until  1835.     Hartford,  New  York,  Phil- 
adelphia,  and  Baltimore  successively  welcomed  the  trav- 


zu 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


elers.    After  crossing  the  AUeghanies,  at  the  beginninff 
of  a  severe  winter,  they  proceeded  by  way  of  Wheeling 
to  Cincinnati.    The  river  was  full  of  ice.    The  steamer 
came  into  great  perils.    A  landing  was  made  at  West- 
port,  Kentucky,  and  the  travelers,  finding  no  equipage 
walked  to   Louisville,   whence    they  took  a  stage  for 
Nashville.    They  had  a  miserable  time  in  going  hence  to 
Memphis,  De  Tocqueville  being  taken  seriously  ill  at 
bandy  Bndge.    He  recovered  in  a  few  days  sufficiently 
to  continue  his  journey;  but  in  later  life  it  was  suspected 
that  the  disease  which  finally  took  him  off  began  at  this 
period  Its  insidious  approaches.    It  took  a  week  to  go 
from  Memphis  to  New  Orleans  by  steamboat.    After  a 
few  days  in  Louisiana,  the  young  men  returned  to  the 
Atlantic  seaboard  by  way  of  Montgomery,  and  presently 
reached  Norfolk  and  Washington. 

De  Tocqueville's  journey  to  the  southern  parts  of  the 
country  was  full  of  hardships,  ice  in  the  Ohio  River  lead- 
mg  to  shipwreck,  exposures  as  he  crossed  the  State  of 
Tennessee  inducing  fever,  food  that  he  did  not  like 
toujours  du  mats  et  dii  cochon,  corn  and  bacon,  beds  that 
were  hard,  severe  changes  m  climate,  all  those  are  speci- 
fied, yet  in  despite  of  discomforts  he  grew  strong  on  the 
journey.    For  five  or  six  years,  he  says,  he  had  not  been 
so  well  as  during  this  route  of  hardships.    The  great 
thing,  he  adds  jocosely,  is  not  to  think -to  be  like  an 
oyster     Seriously,  in  another  letter,  he  makes  it  clear 
that  this  period  of  enforced  lonesomeness,  from  New 
Orleans  to  Norfolk,  was  a  period  of  intellectual  repose 
such  as  many  a  traveler  requires  to  digest  and  arrange 
his  previous  observations.   Thus  Stanley  paused  at  Cairo, 
m  the  spring  of  1890,  to  prepare  his  book  before  return- 
ing to  the  distractions  of  England.    "During  the  last 
SIX  weeks,"  De  Tocqueville  writes  to  his  father  from 
Washington,  January  24,  1832,  "when  my  body  has  been 
more  weary  and  my  mind  more  tranquil  than  it  has  been 
tor  a  long  while,  I  have  carefully  considered  what  I  could 


«:.«SiN!fi«BS;«M; 


CA. 

Bs,  at  the  beginning 
'{  way  of  Wheeling 
I  ice.    The  steamer 
vas  made  at  West- 
nding  no  equipage, 
took  a  stage  for 
le  in  going  hence  to 
en  seriously  ill  at 
Jw  days  sufficiently 
ife  it  was  suspected 
a  oflf  began  at  this 
took  a  week  to  go 
;eamboat.    After  a 
en  returned  to  the 
aery,  and  presently 

ithern  parts  of  the 
le  Ohio  River  lead- 
ossed  the  State  of 
he  did  not  like, 
d  bacon,  beds  that 
all  those  are  speci- 
frew  strong  on  the 
s,  he  had  not  been 
iships.     The  great 
k  —  to  be  like  an 
le  makes  it  clear 
leness,  from  New 
atellectual  repose, 
igest  and  arrange 
y  paused  at  Cairo, 
3ok  before  return- 
"  During  the  last 
'  his  father  from 
my  body  has  been 
1  than  it  has  been 
ered  what  I  could 


INTRODUCTION. 


XUl 


wnte  on  America.  It  would  be  absolutely  impracticable 
for  one  who  has  passed  but  a  year  in  this  great  country 
to  draw  a  complete  picture  of  the  Union.  Besides,  such 
a  work  would  be  as  wearisome  as  it  would  be  informa- 
tive. On  the  other  hand,  it  is  possible,  by  selecting  the 
material,  to  present  those  subjects  which  are  more  or  less 
closely  related  to  the  social  and  political  condition  of 
France.  Such  a  work  might  have,  at  the  same  time,  per- 
manent and  immediate  interest.  There  is  the  scheme. 
Vom  le  cadre.  But  have  I  the  time  and  the  talent  for 
Its  execution  %  That  is  the  question.  One  other  consivi- 
eration  is  always  before  me.  I  shaU  write  nothing  or 
I  shall  write  what  I  think  j  and  all  that  is  true,  it  is  not 
well  to  tell." 

This  is  clearly  the  quickening  moment  in  his  projected 
memoir.    He  is  to  select  from  his  observations  those 
which  may  be  of  use  in  France,  and  to  present  these  se- 
lections  in  a  form  which  will  be  readable  and  permanent. 
Washington  was  a  favorable  place  for  the  verification 
of  his  facts  and  the  clarification  of  his  ideas.    Congress 
was  in  session,  and  many  prominent  men  were  at  the 
capital.    He  tells  us  that  it  was  no  longer  necessary  to 
ask  ideas  on  subjects  with  which  he  was  unacquainted, 
but  it  was  most  serviceable  to  go  over,  in  conversation 
with  men  from  every  part  of  the  country,  that  which  he 
had  lately  learned.    Doubtful  pomts  were  thus  settled. 
It  was  a  sort  of  cross-questioning —  "  very  serviceable  " 
says  De  Tocqueville.    "  We  are  constantly  treated,"  he 
adds, "  with  great  respect.   Yesterday  the  French  Minister 
presented  us  to  the  President,  General  Jackson,  whom  we 
called  Monsieur  quite  at  our  ease.    He  extended  his  hand 
as  to  peers.    He  does  exactly  so  to  everybody."    Jeffer- 
erson  was  dead,  or  we  may  be  sure  that  the  two  phil- 
osophers would  have  put  their  heads  together.    Monroe 
was  in  his  last  days  when  De  Tocqueville  arrived  in  New 
York.    Madison  lived  till  1836,   and  one  cannot  help 
wondering  whether  the  traveler  had  the  opportunity  of 


XIV 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


consulting  this  great  exponent  of  the  Constitution. 
Webster,  Calhoun,  and  Clay  were  in  their  vigor,  but 
their  names  do  not  appear  in  the  printed  notes  and  let- 
ters. An  acquaintance  with  John  Quincy  Adams  — the 
only  President  wLo  has  entered  Congress  after  leaving 
the  chief  magistrate's  chair  — had  been  already  formed 
in  Boston  at  the  dinner-table  of  Mr.  Edward  Everett 
and  was  doubtless  renewed  at  the  national  capital. 

Among  the  men  whom  De  Tocqueville  met  on  his  long 
journey,  these  are  to  be  noted :  Dr.  William  Ellery  Chan- 
ning,  the  great  preacher;  Jared  Sparks,  the  historian;  and 
Francis  C.  Gray,  of  Boston ;  in  New  York,  Albert  Gallatin, 
and  Nathanael  Prime,  a  prominent  banker.  Nicholas  Bid- 
die  and  J.  R.  Poinsett  were  consulted  in  Philadelphia.  In 
Baltimore,  he  speaks  of  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Dr.  Richard 
Steuart,  and  Charles  Carroll,  last  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  then  more  than  ninety 
years  old.  In  New  Orleans,  he  mentions  M.  Mazureau, 
a  lawyer,  and  M.  Guillemin,  the  French  consul,  who 
supplemented  the  information  that  he  had  received  in 
Philadelphia  from  Mr.  James  Brown,  a  Louisiana  planter, 
who  had  been  Minister  to  France  for  some  years  prior  to 
1829.  Judge  Henry  Johnson  and  Edward  Livingston 
are  also  mentioned. 

But  it  is  probable,  if  not  certain,  that  he  was  most  in- 
debted to  John  C.  Spencer,  a  publicist  of  New  York, 
whom  he  visited  at  his  home  in  Canandaigua.  This  gen' 
tleman  had  been  prominent  in  State  politics,  as  he  was 
afterward  in  national.  Next  to  him  and  possibly  in  ad- 
vance of  him  should  be  named  Jared  Sparks,  of  Cam- 
bridge, from  whom  abundant  and  suggestive  informa- 
tion was  derived  in  respect  to  New  England  townships. 
Most  of  these  personalities  are  derived  from  De  Tocque- 
ville's  letters,  printed  by  his  widow ;  but  they  are  rigidly 
excluded  from  the  "  Democracy  in  America."  The  re- 
markable reserve  of  the  author  is  obvious  to  every 
reader.  John  Stuart  Mill  dwells  upon  the  abstraction  of 
the  treatise  as  one  of  its  best  characteristics;  and  Bryce 


INTRODUCTION, 


xv 


k  this  peculiarity  as  one  of  the  reasons  which  led 
>,  writing  on  the  American  Commonwealth,  to  fill  his 
iumes  with  examples  and  illustrations  rather  than 
■losophy.  De  Tocqueville  shows  the  quaUties  of  a  sci- 
ific  reasoner.  As  the  naturalist  who  has  collected 
ly  flowers  or  birds  or  insects  classifies  and  general- 
his  knowledge,  so  the  political  phUosopher  notices 
rany  social  phenomena,  and  then  seeks  their  lessons  • 
ut  he  does  not  take  the  trouble,  or  does  not  think  it 
desirable,  to  indicate  the  concrete  illustrations  on  which 
his  conclusions  have  been  based. 


Ill 

The  preparation  of  their  report  on  prisons  engaged  the 
attention  of  the  travelers  as  soon  as  they  had  returned 
to  Pans.    It  was  an  important  document  because  it  made 
known  m  Europe  the  essential  modifications  of  prison 
disciphne  which  had  been  introduced  in  America;  but  to 
inquire  mto  its  distinctive  merits  would  involve  discus- 
sions  not  pertinent  to  this  paper.    As  soor-.  as  the  pnsons 
were  off  his  mind,  De  Tocqueville  began  his  principal 
I  task     An  American  gentleman  now  living  m  Washine- 
ton  General  Francis  J.  Lippitt,  who  rendered  some  impor- 
tant services  to  De  TocqueviUe  in  the  preparation  of  his 
1  book  reraembers  distinctly  the  appearance  of  the  author 
|«uu  his  methods  of  work.    In  reply  to  the  inquiries  of 
a  friend  he  has  written  out  his  reminiscences.    It  should 

L n/^h'T!f\^^^l^'-  ^^^^^  ^^«  ^  g««d  French  scholar, 
land  that  he  had  been  an  attache  of  the  American  legation 

l'°,i  mV^^''''^  ^^  "^^^^  ^^^  acquaintance  of  De  Tocque- 
ville. This  is  his  letter,  which  is  given  in  iU  entirety 
because  it  is  such  an  interesting  link  between  .  .e  present 

I  renown  of  the  author  and  the  beginning  of  his  fame : 

T  ,  Tiverton,  R,  I.,  Julv  24  ISQ? 

I  JtaTe  ITJ^lrT'^  'r  ''''''''  '^^  P'^^*-"^-^  relatiuVto^he  a  : 
hTuMcation  of  h         T  *'.r."'^''  *^  ^'  ^'  Tocqueville  prior  to  the 
publication  of  his  work  on  "  Democracy  in  America." 

f     I  can  tell  you  very  little  about  M.  de  Tocqueville  himself;  our  in- 


XVI 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


tercourse  being  confined  to  oiir  joint  labors -if  I  may  call  them  sa 
-in  his  study.  I  shall  first  state  certain  particulars  which  are  not 
wholly  mal-A-propos.  (1)  My  knowledge  of  French  began  in  my 
early  childhood;  and  when  I  first  met  M.  de  Tocqueville  I  spoke  it 
fluently,  and  wrote  it  with  tolerable  correctness.  (2)  In  my  senior 
year  in  college  we  had  Rawle  on  the  Constitution  for  six  months 
(3)  Before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Livingston,  our  new  minister,  with  hii 
secretaries  and  attaches,  I  had  been  attache  for  several  months  to 
our  Legation  in  Paris. 

Some  time  in  1834  I  was  called  on  by  a  stranger  who  informed  me 
that  he  was  desirous  to  have  the  assistance  of  an  American  gentle- 
man of  "education,"  and  that  I  had  been  recommended  to  him  by 
the  American  Legation.  I  accepted  at  once  the  terms  he  offered  me 
and  I  was  to  commence  at  once  in  his  study  at  his  father's  hotel  in 
the  Faubourg  St.  Germain.    His  physique  was  not  at  all  striking 
He  was  slightly  built,  and  his  height  did  not  exceed  five  feet  six 
inches.    His  age  was  apparently  somewhere  between  twenty-five 
and  thirty.    There  was  certainly  nothing  about  the  contour  of  his 
head  or  the  expression  of  his  face  that  indicated  him  to  be  a  man  of 
more  than  ordinary  mtelligence.    His  manner  was  quiet  and  digni- 
fied but  somewhat  (6^    I  afterwards  learned  that  he  had  lately 
returned  from  the  U^ed  States,  whither  he  had  been  sent  by  the 
French  Government  in  conjunction  with  Gustave  de  Beaumont  on 
a  mission  to  examine  and  report  on  our  penitentiary  systems;  knd 
that  he  was  a  son  of  the  Comte  de  Tocqueville,  of  the  old  noblesse 
My  connection  with  him  lasted  some  three  or  four  months     Hi» 
treatment  of  me  was  always  very  kind  and  appreciative.    My  daily 
attendance  in  his  study  was  from  9  a.  m.  to  about  5  p.  m 

A  few  words  will  describe  the  nature  of  my  duties.  Many  shelves 
m  his  study  were  filled  with  books  and  pamphlets  he  had  brought 
with  him  from  America.  What  he  desired  of  me  was  to  Vrite  out 
summary  statements  of  our  political  organizations,  both  State  ana 
Federal;  and  those  books  were  chiefly  statutes  of  the  different. 
States  and  of  the  United  States. 

The  statutes  of  some  of  the  new  Western  States  were  still  unbound 
And  when  even  these  were  wanting  there  were  newspaper  slips  con- 
taining shenffs'  and  other  official  notices,  so  that  the  materials  fur- 
nished  me  were  amply  sufficient  to  enable  me  to  write  out  for  him 
all  the  particulars  he  desired.  He  usually  came  in  about  3  p.  m  to- 
read  over  the  m^moire  I  had  been  preparing  for  him,  and  to  get  my 
oral  explanation  on  certain  points  that  interested  him.  Our  inter- 
views throughout  were  simply  of  questions  on  his  part  and  answers 
on  mine.  You  will  easily  believe  that  his  questions  indicated  a. 
most  penetrating  intellect. 


( 


A 


INTRODUCTION.  jy,j^ 

He  was  the  most  reticent  man  I  ever  met.    Only  twice,  so  far  as  I 
can  remember  did  he  ever  volunteer  a  remark:  once  wien  he  cor 

nanl^r  '?  f '""*•"  ''^""^^'  ^°  my  m^mo.re,  and  clearly  ex- 
plamed  the  rule  to  me;  and  at  another  time,  when  we  had  been 
talking  about  town  meetings,  he  exclaimed  with  a  kindling  eye  (usu^ 
ally  quite  expressionless),  "Mais,  c'est  la  Commune!" 

I  think  it  was  then  that  I  received  the  impression  that  he  deemed 
such  meetings  to  have  been  the  root  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  HberTiea 
and  capacity  for  self-government.  But  it  is  possible  that  this  imp  es 
sion  did  not  come  to  me  until  after  reading  his  book.    Prom  thel 
semble  of  our  conversations  I  certainly  did  carry  away  S  me  an 
impression  that  his  political  views  and  sympathfes  were  not  Tver 
able  to  democracy.    I  knew  nothing  of  his  intention  to  write  a  book 

Tm  rTo^e'^^^^^^^         *,'  ^"""'  ^"  '''''  "^^  "^^  Democratic  en 
Am6nque     had  already  appeared.    I  lost  no  time  in  obtaining  « 

S    /'  v,°'  '"."^''"^ ''  '  '•^'^"-^  *»^-*  "«  auTho   was   heg/ea? 
political  philosopher  of  the  century.    Whether  or  not  he  was  Ic 
quainted  with  our  language  I  am  unable  to  say.      I  neverheard 
him  speak  except  in  French.    I  never  had  occasion  to  receive  a  let 
ter  from  him,  and  have  nothing  of  his  handwriting  bu     an  un 
mportant  note  or  two  now  on  storage  in  Washington^  wh  ch  I  wUl" 
send^you  on  my  return  there  in  October,  unless  ft  should  be  tren 

I  have  never  before  written  out  any  of  these  particulars :  and  there 
are  very  few  persons  aware  of  the  fact  that  I  once  assisted  mT 
Tocqueville  in  preparing  materials  for  his  celebrated  work 

Sincerely  yours, 

Francis  J.  Lippitt. 

IV 

Before  examining  the  " Democracy  in  America"  let  ««, 

Sltlf :/  trr  ^^  ^^^^' ^'  Engllnd'an^th 
United  States  at  the  time  of  its  publication.    When 

IZTT  T'  *^  ^^'  "^""*^>^  i^  1831,  the  United 

States,  for  over  forty  years,  had  enjoved  the  benefits  of 
a  written  Constitution.    Its  provisions  had  been  pele 

otfiCdllh "  T^'"^^^'  ^^^  ^^^  ^-^  «^-fi '"-^ 

made  John  Marshall's  name  immortal.'    The  fertile  lands 
peace  and  prosperity  prevailed,  and  "the  era  of  good 


zvui 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


feeUng"  had  but  just  passed  away.    Yet  disturbing  ele- 
ments were  at  work ;  the  national  bank  had  awakened 
bitter  hostilities;  the  tariff  had  caused  discontent;  the 
loud    premonitions    of    nullification   were    in    the    air. 
The  general  confidence  in  the  Federal  power  was,  how- 
ever, unshaken,  and  the  Union  sentiment  was  soon  to  be 
strengthened  by  Jackson's  proclamation  to  the  people  of 
South  Carolina.    While  De  TocqueviUe  was  in  Washing- 
ton Marcy  made  that  famous  dictum,  plausible,  popular, 
and  pregnant  with  evils, "  To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils 
of  the  enemy."    In  spite  of  apprehensions,  the  most  hen- 
ous  dependent  on  the  existence  of  slavery,  i'emooracy 
was  firmly  established.    Nobody  questioned  its  perma- 
nence. ,    , 
In  France,  during  the  same  forty  years,  revolution  had 
followed  revolution.    The  old  regime  had  disappeared, 
the  Directory  had  given  place  to  the  Consulate,  the  Con- 
sulate to  the  Empire,  the  Empire  to  the  Restoration,  and 
finally  the  House  of  Orleans  had  supplanted  the  House 
of  Bourbon.    Louis  PhiUppe,  son  of  a  prince  who  was 
nicknamed  ^gaim,  bore  the  democratic  ^title  of  "  Cit- 
izen King."    He  had  been  on  the  throne  for  less  than 
a  year  when  De  TocqueviUe  crossed  the  Atlantic.    The 
ascendancy  of  the  middle  classes  was  apparently  secured. 
The  King  himself  had  been  in  the  United  States.    One 
day  when  De  TocqueviUe  called  to  see  him  on  some  busi- 
ness pertaining  to  the  French  Academy,  the  King  said,  "I 
want  to  ask  you  about  America."    Whereupon,  for  three 
quarters  of  an  hour,  he  poured  out  his  own  observations, 
and  then  thanked  De  TocqueviUe  for  the  pleasure  his 
conversation  had  afforded,  "  although,"  says  De  Tocque- 
viUe, "  I  had  not  said  luui  words." 

In  England,  the  rr-i' )  of  WUiam  i\^  Mg&n  six  weeks 
before  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe  in  France.  It  was  a 
short  reign,  but  it  was  marked  by  two  events  — the  pas- 
sage of  the  Reform  BUI,  June  7, 1832,  by  which  the  suf- 
frage was  extended,  and  the  emancipation  of  slaves  in 


INTRODUCTION. 


XU 


the  British  West  Indies.     The  Revolution  of  July  1830 
had  established  in  France  the  ascendancy  of  the  middle 
or  bourgeois  class,  as  De  Tocqueville  pointed  out,  and 
Lecky,  referring  to  this  remark,  has  shown  that  a  similar 
influence,  though  not  quite  so  potent,  was  established  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Channel  by  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832 
•'  In  England,"  he  says,  "  this  middle  class,  though  it  be^ 
came  after  1832  the  most  powerful,  had  not  the  same  ab- 
solute  empire  as  in  France."    While  the  chief  controlling 
power  lay  with  the  great  middle  classes,  the  suffrage  was 
m  some  degree  "within  the  reach  of  the  skilled  artisans 
a  great  and  intelligent  class,  who  should  have  a  dis' 
tmct  place   and   interest   in   every    well-ordered    gov- 
ernment."  ^ 

The  first  two  parts  of  De  TocqueviUe's  great  memoir 
appeared  in  January,  1835,  and  were  at  once  received  with 
6clat  m  France,  England,  and  the  United  States.    To  tiie 
venerable  statesman,  Royer-Collard,  a  comparison  with 
the     Esprit  des  Lois"  occurred  at  once.    "Since  Mon.- 
tesqmeu  there  has  been  nothing  so  good,"  was  his  re- 
mark,  which  was  quoted  by  the  historian  De  Barante 
twenty  years  later,  and  has  often  been  repeated     The 
sagacity  of  the  writer,  his  honest  independence,  his  rare 
aptitude  for  generalization,  his  good  judgment,  and  his 
skill  m  accumulating,  sifting,  and  arranging  the  mate- 
nals  tor  reflection,  were  recognized  by  all. 

Notwithstanding  this  applause,  the  author  determined 
to  make  the  second  part  of  his  treatise  even  better  than 
the  first  He  made  a  study  of  poUtical  philosophy.  He 
also  applied  himself  diligently  to  the  best  French  litera- 
ture especially  the  masters  of  the  seventeenth  centurv 
De  Beaumont  says  that  Pascal  was  the  author  whom  he 
studied  with  most  constancy  and  affection.  Plato,  Plu- 
tarch  Machiavelli,  Montaigne,  and  Rousseau  are  among 
he  other  writers  that  he  read.    "I  have  the  same  plea 

'Thn^M     fiTV?^'""  '^'^^^'"  ^'  '^y'  i^  a  letter, 
that  Marshal  Soult  had  in  studying  geography,  after  be 


Pl 

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f  » 

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i 

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M'"' 


iiii 

id 


ti 


■«■ 


xz 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


became  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs."  Nor  did  he 
shrink  from  the  criticisms  of  his  friends.  De  Beaumont 
continued  his  intimate  relations,  and  there  are  allusions 
to  conferences  with  Chateaubriand  and  Ampere. 

When  the  second  part  of  the  "  Democracy  "  appeared, 
the  author  again  received  the  praise  of  the  best  re^dews. 
Meanwhile  he  had  widened  his  horizon,  by  a  visit  to 
England,  where  he  had  made  acquaintances  that  were  of 
value  to  him  through  life.  In  a  famous  review  by  John 
Stuart  Mill,  it  is  said  "  that  the  Enghsh  people  now  know 
and  read  the  first  philosophical  book  ever  written  on 
Democracy  as  it  manifests  itself  in  modern  society."  Sir 
Robert  Peel  caught  up  and  employed  one  phrase,  "  the 
Tyranny  of  the  Majority,"  with  great  effect. 


Some  of  the  antecedents  which  favored  the  production 
of  this  book  will  next  be  considered.  In  his  early  life 
the  strongest  personal  influence  was  exercised  upon  De 
Tocqueville  by  his  father,  a  man  of  family  and  of  talents, 
who  held  several  successive  stations  of  importance  in  the 
<;ivil  service.  Next  the  father  stood  an  ecclesiastic  who 
was  first  the  teacher  and  then  the  counselor  and  friend 
of  Alexis  as  long  as  he  lived.  This  was  the  Abb^  Le- 
sueur,  a  man  of  great  learning,  fine  talents,  and  amiable 
•character,  who  recognized  the  superiority  of  his  pupil, 
^nd  greatly  contributed  to  the  development  of  his  mind 
;and  heart.  This  Nestor  died  at  the  ago  of  eighty-eight, 
shortly  after  his  pupil  went  abroad.  All  his  letters  were 
carefully  kept  by  De  Tocqueville,  inscribed  with  these 
words:  "  Letters  of  the  Abb6  Lesueur,  the  man  to  whom 
I  owe  the  greatest  gratitude;  whose  memory  remains 
most  dear  and  most  to  be  revered." 

There  were  other  remoter  influences,  and  among  them 
Montesquieu  must  be  regarded  as  the  intellectual  progeni- 
tor of  De  Tocqueville.    That  great  work,  "  The  Spirit  of 


remains 


INTRODUCTION. 

XXI 

the  Laws,"  appeared  in  1748,  in  the  full  maturity  of  the 

years  i.,  England,  m  order  to  make  careful  studies  of 
Angheau  hberty.  In  the  course  of  eighteen  months 
twen  y-two  editions  of  his  treatise  appeared  It  «a ' 
translated  into  most  of  the  European  languages  Ind 
found  favor  not  only  among  jurists  ^nd  pouS  but 
also  hke  a  history  by  Carlyle,  or  a  phUosophicaTnove 
by  George  Ehot,  in  the  circles  of  literature  and  he  Xns 
of  fasuK,n  The  earlier  statesmen  of  the  American  S 
from  Washmgton  to  Monroe,  became  famUMHH 

TjXZ  "At7  '''.'7T""^'  th^"^"  the  ill; 
01  jenerson.    At  a  period  when  every  thouehtful  Am^ri 
can  was  interested  in  the  foundations  of  gov^nment 
as  men  are  to-day  in  the  pei^lexities  of  munlTpal  admi~ 
stration,- copies  of  Montesquieu  found  their  way  to  the 
1  branes  of  private  citizens,  half  a  centuiy  after  Lnov 
elty  of  the  work  had  disappeared 

p.nson  of  Montesquieu  and  De  Tocqueville  has  been 

Compare  "L'Espritdes  Lois"  with  the  "n«n,n««.-        ,    ,. 
There  is  the  some  dose  strueture  in  the  „„  1  ?^         '"  ^""^''1^^-" 
thought,  the  same  hJeadth  t?  rtew     Bat  1      '™'  "''"""'"'  °' 
straint  and  austerity-that  same  sort  o,T  "°"'"'  """  "■ 

spread  through  the  w'orl,  of  Da  Toeq^^e  i'  tTd"':   ttaTtf 

in  iiis  writings  than  ^:TZZu^fZ7::Zrt'l  TZ' 
•not.    He  is  not  of  the  r«ee  o^MoZ  Je  l'        "'*  ""'  ■"""  "'  " 

1  "Montesquieu"  par  Albert  Sorel,  p.  79. 


I  ' 


1^'  '■ 

'  1 

'IV 

^^1 

tj  |H 

yll 

'■t^^^^H 

XZll 


DEMOCRACY  TN  AMERICA. 


great  historical  study,  "L'Ancien  R6gime  et  la  Revolution,"  which 
corresponds  to  "Considerations  sur  les  Remains."  He  has  composed 
his  "D6mocratie  en  Am6rique,"  which  is  his  "Esprit  desLois."  He 
has  impressed,  in  the  second  half  of  the  century,  on  historic  and  po- 
litical studies  an  impulse  less  startling  and  acknowledged,  but  no 
less  effectual,  and  as  fruitful  as  that  which  Guizot  impressed  on  the 
first  half.  Through  him  Montesquieu  is  still  in  relations  with 
France  o»  to-day,  and  still  gains  his  prizes.  They  are  greater  than 
one  would  readily  believe.  It  is  thanks  to  the  influence  of  that  spirit, 
wholly  historical  and  experimental,  with  which,  little  by  little,  in- 
stitutions and  manners  have  been  permeated,  that  the  theoretical 
machinery  of  Sieyfes  has  been  abandoned,  and  the  applied  mechan- 
ism of  practical  men  has  been  adopted,  and  that,  through  the  work- 
ings of  a  constitution  most  summary  in  its  text,  most  familiar  in  its 
applications,  France  has  come  to  the  most  natural  development  it. 
has  ever  known,  i 

Some  of  Montesquieu's  phrases  are  like  the  germs  of 
De  Tocqueville's  conclusions  —  the  premises  of  his  rea- 
sonings ;  for  example,  "  the  love  of  country,  that  is,  the 
love  of  equality";  and  "Democracy  is  nothing  but  an 
historical  phenomenon." 

Chateaubriand's  influence  upon  De  Tocqueville  has  also 
left  its  traces.  This  poet  and  statesman  had  visited  the 
United  States  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He 
had  dined  with  Washington  and  explained  to  him  his 
desire  to  penetrate  the  polar  regions ;  *'  not  an  easy  task," 
as  the  President  informed  him.  He  had  crossed  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  and  had  brought  back  pictures  of  Indian  life 
which  captivated  the  Parisians  as  much  as  Franklin's 
dress  and  manners  had  pleased  them  at  an  earlier  day. 
"Ren6"  and  "Atala"  were  read  by  everybody.  They  be- 
came classics.  When  Beaumont  and  De  Tocqueville  pro- 
jected their  tour,  Chateaubriand  was  still  a  conspicuous 
and  important  personage  in  Paris.  Following  his  example, 
the  young  travelers  determined  that  they  too  would  see 
the  Indians,  so  as  soon  as  they  left  Albany  the  look-out 
began.     "  Gone ! "  ten  years  —  eight,  six,  two,  were  the 

1  IMd,,  p.  166. 


INTRODUCTION. 


XX111 


disappointing  answers  they  received  at  their  successive 
resting-places  as  they  crossed  New  York.     Buffalo  was 
reached  "without  the  sight  of  a  savage."    Thereupon 
the  party  set  sail  for  the  frontier,  and  a  few  miles  be- 
yond Detroit  their  curiosity  was  satisfied.    An  episode  of 
this  journey,  entitled  «  A  Fortnight  in  the  Wilderness," 
is  the  natural  sequence  of  a  "  Night  among  the  American 
Savages,"  the  tale  twice-told  by  Chateaubriand.    As  for 
the  Indian  women,  writes  De  Tocqueville,  ''you  must 
read '  Atala '  before  coming  to  America."    Chateaubriand's 
historical  ^Titings  and  his  admirable  respect  for  literaiy 
form  also  affected  the  preparation  of  "Democracy  in 
America."     Certainly  a  recent  estimate  of    the    older 
author  applies  to  the  younger.    "  He  learns  how  to  mod- 
erate himself,  how  to  suppress  digressions  likely  to  de- 
tract from  the  harmony  of  lines  or  the  dignity  of  forms 
He  scorns  tawdry  flourishes  of  style.    In  all  his  magnifi- 
cence, he  has  the  soberness  of  a  great  master."  ^ 


VI 

Beneath  the  influences  to  which  reference  has  been 
made,  potent  as  they  were,  — the  early  environment  of  a 
cultivated  family,  the  paternal  counsels  of  his  dear  Abb6, 
the  style  of  Pascal  and  the  philosophy  of  Mor^esquieu,— 
De  Tocqueville  himself  is  always  to  be  discerned.  Neither 
heredity  nor  education  can  explain  the  appearance  of 
such  a  man.  He  cannot  be  accounted  for.  "  Born  so  " 
is  all  that  can  be  said.  Without  unusual  training,  with- 
out the  advantages  of  university  education,  without  the 
preparation  which  a  great  library  might  afford,  without 
the  stimulus  of  poverty,  the  spur  of  ambition,  or  the  ob- 
ligations of  office,  and  even  without  instructions  as  to  the 
methods  of  inquiry  which  he  should  initiate  and  follow, 
De  Tocqueville,  at  an  age  when  most  young  men  are 

iPellissier,  "Le  Mouvement  Litteraire  au  XIXe  Sidcle."    Amer 
trans.,  p.  80.  .'^•^ci. 


ih 


i 


XXIV 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


about  to  begin,  under  the  protection  of  their  seniors,  a 
professional  life,  conceived  and  matured  by  himself  a  plan 
for  studying  upon  a  vast  area,  in  a  foreign  land,  the  lan- 
guage of  which  was  unfamiliar  to  him,  the  processes  and 
results  of  democratic  government,  that  he  might  bring 
home  to  his  native  land  the  lessons  of  political  prosper- 
ity. The  success  which  attended  this  youthful  endeavor, 
the  instantaneous  renown  which  came  to  the  author,  the 
permanent  appreciation  bestowed  upon  his  memoir,  are 
the  proofs  that  he  was  a  man  of  rare  gifts,  whose  quali- 
ties were  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  tasks  that  his  sagacity 
projected. 

After  De  Tocqueville's  death,  Lacordaire  delivered  a 
eulogy  which  contains  this  remarkable  passage : 

Such  was  the  legacy  of  M.  de  Tocqueville  ("L'Ancien  regime  et 
la  Revolution"),  the  supreme  expression  of  his  thought.  After 
that  he  did  nought  but  die.  Too  serious  a  workman  not  to  be  con- 
sumed in  the  light  of  which  he  had  been  the  organ,  he  advanced, 
step  by  step,  without  being  aware,  toward  a  death  which  was  to  be 
the  third  recompense  of  his  life.  Glory  had  been  the  first ;  he  had 
found  the  second  in  a  domestic  happiness  of  twenty-five  years ;  his 
premature  death  was  to  bring  him  the  last,  and  put  the  seal  of  God's 
justice  upon  him.  He  had  always  been  as  sincere  with  God  as  with 
man.  A  just  sense,  a  reason,  matured,  first,  by  rectitude  and  then 
by  reflection  and  experience,  had  revealed  to  him  without  difficulty 
a  God,  active,  living,  personal,  who  regulated  all  things  :  and  from 
this  height  so  simple  yet  so  sublime,  he  had  descended  without 
effort  to  the  God  who  breathes  in  the  Gospel  and  through  love  has 
become  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  But  his  faith  was  rather  of  the 
head  than  of  the  heart.  He  saw  the  truth  of  Christianity,  he  served 
it  without  shame,  he  recognized  its  efficacy  even  for  the  temporal 
safety  of  man;  but  he  had  not  reached  the  point  where  religion 
leaves-US  nothing  which  is  not  formed  and  kindled  by  it.  It  was 
death  which  gave  to  him  the  gift  of  love.  He  received  God  as  an 
old  friend  who  came  to  visit  him  and  was  touched  by  His  presence 
even  to  the  shedding  of  tears ;  free  at  last  from  this  world,  he  forgotf 
that  which  he  had  been,  his  name,  his  services,  his  regrets,  his  de- 
sires, and  ev»n  before  he  had  bid  us  farewell,  there  remained  no 
longer  in  that  soul  aught  save  those  virtues  he  had  acquired  in  this 
world  while  passing  through  it.i 

1 V.  A.de  Tocqueville,  "CEuvres," vol.  ix,  "fitudes^conomiques,"  p.6,7. 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXV 


John  Stuart  Mill,  the  peer  of  De  Tocqueville  in  political 
acumen,  was  among  the  first  of  those  who  perceived  the 
significance  of  the  "  Democracy  in  America."    His  well- 
known  criticism,  which  appeared  in  1840,  is  full  of  praises. 
*'  He  has  applied  to  the  greatest  question  in  the  art  and 
science  of  government  those  principles  and  methods  to 
which  mankind  are  indebted  for  all  the  advances  made  by 
modern  times  in  the  other  branches  of  the  study  of  na- 
ture."   Mill  does  not  confine  himself  to  an  indication  of 
De  Tocqueville's  views.    He  looks  upon  the  condition  and 
institutions  of  England  with  a  search-light  placed  in  his 
hand  by  the  French  inventor.    One  of  his  most  note- 
worthy remarks  is  this :  "  The  passion  for  equality  of 
which  M.  de  Tocqueville  speaks  almost  as  if  it  were  the 
great  moral  lever  of  modern  times  is  hardly  known  in 
this  country  even  by  name.    On  the  contrary,  all  ranks 
seem  to  have  a  passion  for  inequality."    But  MiU's  essay, 
as  a  whole,  is  an  independent  study  of  Democracy  as  de- 
veloped in  the  United  States.    One  error,  into  which  De 
Tocqueville  falls  more  than  once,  consists  in  attributing 
to  Democracy  certain  moral  and  social  influences,  which 
are  shown  by  Mill  to  be  in  full  operation  in  aristocratic 
England.    "  The  defects  which  De  Tocqueville  points  out 
in  the  American,  and  which  we  see  in  the  modern  English 
mind,  are  the  ordinary  ones  of  a  commercial  class."    It  is 
needless  to  enlarge  upon  Mill's  essay  further  than  to  say 
that  it  is  not  less  valuable  and  suggestive  now  than  when 
it  was  written.    It  should  be  read  by  every  student  of 
De  TocquevUle. 

Sir  Henry  Sumner  Maine  attributes  to  De  Tocqueville's 
work  the  wide-spread  view  that  Democracy  is  irresistible. 
He  would  by  no  means  accept  as  correct  the  favorable 
impressions  received  by  the  French  authority  from  his 
transatlantic  studies.  Whatever  its  advantages,  ''  of  all 
the  forms  of  government,  Democracy  is  by  far  the  most 
difficult." 

There  are  two  recent  works  with  which  "  Democracy  in 


I  I] 


,i,? 


XXVI 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


ill 


1| 
It 


America  "  may  be  compared,  and  by  which  its  conclusions 
may  often  be  tested.  One  of  these  has  already  been 
mentioned  —  the  "  American  Commonwealth,"  by  James 
Bryce ;  the  other  is  an  elaborate  discussion  of  Democracy 
and  Liberty  by  the  historian  Lecky.  Bryce  gathers 
facts,  arranges  them  under  appropriate  heads,  takes  care 
to  verify,  by  repeated  visits  to  this  country,  and  by 
searching  interviews  with  its  public  men,  the  impressions 
derived  in  the  most  diverse  societies  of  the  country. 
Lecky's  purpose  is  different.  His  scope  is  wider.  He 
deals  with  the  progress  of  civilization.  While  he  studies 
society  in  every  clime.  Great  Britain  and  her  dependen- 
cies are  constantly  in  his  mind,  and  America  affords  him 
innumerable  illustrations  of  the  conditions  favorable  and 
unfavorable  to  human  progress. 

Bryce  distinctly  indicates  the  difference  between  his 
own  undertaking  and  that  of  his  French  predecessor. 
"  I  have  striven,"  he  says,  "  to  avoid  the  temptations  of 
the  didactive  method  and  to  present  simply  the  facts  of 
the  case,  arranging  and  connecting  them  as  best  I  can, 
but  letting  them  speak  for  themselves,  rather  than  press- 
ing upon  the  reader  my  own  conclusions."  In  an  inde- 
pendent essay,  prepared  for  a  company  of  historical 
students,  in  Baltimore,  before  the  "  American  Common- 
wealth," was  written,  Bryce  had  suggested  that  they 
should  annotate  De  Tocqueville,  bringing  to  one  place,  and 
even  to  one  portfolio,  the  observations  that  they  might 
make  in  their  several  homes,  scattered  as  these  wera 
through  all  parts  of  the  Union.  He  pointed  out  the  de- 
fects of  the  author,  due  to  his  preference  for  a  priori 
method,  the  lack  of  antecedent  study,  and  the  desire  to 
give  his  countrymen  "  a  work  of  edification."  Neverthe- 
less, he  tells  the  students  that  De  Tocqueville  is  so  careful 
and  unprejudiced  an  observer  that  it  is  doubtful  whether 
there  is  a  single  remark  of  his  which  can  be  dismissed  as 
simply  erroneous.    It  is  "  edificatory  "  —  not  merely  be- 


i  \  J 


I 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXVll 


■  hi\ 


cause  it  contains  precepts  instinct  with  the  loftiest  mo- 
truth  '       ''  *  """"^'^  ""*  *^'''"^'''  ^'"'*''^'  ^°^  *^^  ^«^«  «* 

VII 

The  perusal  of  the  "Democracy  in  America"  should  not 
he  undertaken  m  these  days  without  an  abiding  recog- 
mtion  of  the  changes  that  have  occurred  in  the  United 
States  since  the  book  was  written -a  period,  it  will  be 
i^membered  of  more  than  sixty-five  years.  Some  of 
stateT      ''''^^^''''^^y  ''^^"^^^  will  therefore  be  briefly 

The  vast  territory  beyond  the  Mississippi  is  no  longer 
an  unknown  wilderness,  but  is  covered   by  organized 
States  and  Territories.    Alaska  has  been  purchased.    The 
inhabitants  of  the  country  have  increased  from  thirteen 
millions  m  1830  to  nearly  sixty-three  millions  in  1890 
More  than  one  fourth  of  the  people  now  live  in  cities. 
The  center  of  population  has  moved  westward  on  the 
line  of  the  thirty-ninth  parallel,  like  a  star,  till  it  ap- 
proaches  the  meridian  of  Indianapolis.    Ohio  takes  rank 
with  Virginia  as  the  mother  of  Presidents  -  Grant,  Hayes, 
Garfield,  Harrison,  McKinley,  being  Ohioans,  as  Wash 
lugton,  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe,   Tyler,  were   Vir 
ginians.    The  Atlantic  is  much  nearer  to  the  Pacific  than 
It  was  to  the  Mississippi  sixty-five  years  agoj   conti- 
nental railroads  were  not  then  thought  of.    Great  cities 
have  arisen  with  their  infinite  intricacies  of  administra- 
tion and  government. 

The  problems  arising  from  diversity  of  race  have 
wholly  changed.  The  Indians  have  dwindled  till  they 
scarcely  number  a  quarter  of  a  million,  and  slavery  has 
gone.  As  to  the  red  men,  the  question  is  now  one  of 
education  and  civilization.  As  to  the  blacks,  the  ques- 
tion IS  their  adaptation  to  the  political  freedom  conferred 
upon  them.    Large  numbers  of  Jews  have  taken  up  their 


iji  I 


:'j| 


11! « 


'JJgJ.'ll.  I  .■«  .1  JMiLJ!»"J^Mm' 


XXVIU 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


residence  here  — not  a  few  df  them  involuntary  exiles. 
The  number  of  undesirable  immigrants  has  increased 
to  such  an  extent  that  restrictions  have  been  thought 
necessary,  especially  upon  the  incoming  of  the  Chinese 
and  of  European  paupers.  Relations  with  oriental  Asia 
have  become  so  important  that  there  is  a  manifest  desire 
to  secure  the  Hawaiian  islands  as  an  outpost  in  the  Pa- 
cific. There  are  those  who  covet  an  island  of  the  West 
Indies.  If  such  annexation  should  be  accomplished,  the 
blending  of  people  whose  manners  and  customs  are  alien 
will  be  still  more  difficult  in  the  future  than  it  has  been 
in  the  past. 

It  is  easy  to  imagine  the  eagerness  with  which  De 
Tocqueville,  if  he  could  revisit  this  country,  would  turn  to 
these  race  questions.  For  example,  in  two  recent  maga- 
zines, he  might  find  a  negro  and  an  Indian  considering  the 
future  of  their  races.^  The  Indian  is  the  last  chief  of  the 
Pottawatomie  Pokagon  band,  whose  father,  in  1833,  about 
the  time  of  De  Tocqueville's  visit,  conveyed  Chicago, 
embracing  the  Fair  grounds  and  surrounding  country,  to 
the  United  States,  for  about  three  cents  per  acre.  As  to 
the  future  of  the  red  man,  he  says,  it  seems  almost  cer- 
tain that  in  time  he  will  lose  identity  by  amalgamation 
with  the  dominant  race.  Here  is  the  quaint  forecast  of 
Simon  Pokagon : 

I  do  not  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  I  advocate  or  desire  the  amal- 
gamation of  our  people  with  the  white  race.  But  I  speak  of  it  as  an 
event  that  is  almost  certain ;  and  we  had  much  better  rook  with  the 
boat  that  oars  us  on  than  fight  against  the  inevitable.  I  am  fre- 
quently asked:  "Pokagon,  do  you  believe  that  the  white  man  and 
the  red  man  were  originally  of  one  blood?"  My  reply  has  been: 
"  I  do  not  know ;  but  from  the  present  outlook,  they  siu-ely  will  be." 

The  index-finger  of  the  past  and  present  is  pointing  to  the  future, 
showing  most  conclusively  that  by  the  middle  of  the  next  century 
all  Indian  reservations  and  tribal  relations  will  have  passed  away. 
Then  our  people  will  begin  to  scatter ;  and  the  result  will  be  a  gen- 
eral mixing  up  of  the  races.    Through  intermarriage  the  blood  of 

iv.  " The  Forum"  and  "The  Atlantic  Monthly"  for  August,  1897. 


INTRODUCTION. 

XXIX 

our  people,  like  the  waters  that  flow  into  thn  «,r«af 
forever  lost  in  the  dominant  race  •  aL  i  *^^.^®*'  °«ean,  will  be 
read  in  history  of  the  red  men  of  f,°f  f  "°«f ^^^'^^^  ^^^  unborn  will 
are  they  f  "    In  other  wordTextL?  "'^  ^""^  ^^'i"^^^'  "  ^^^^e 

race-Ltinction  by  aXmS!*""^  "  ^'^^  '^^^  ''  ^^«  ^^^^-^^ 

E.  B.  Dubois  a  graduate  of  Harvard  University  and  « 
very  good  writer,  has  simultaneously  published  an  «r^foi 
on  the  strivings  of  his  race.     "  How  does  it  feel  to  y 
problemrMs  the  supposed  inquiry  wtilh  wl^^^^^^^^ 
answer.    His  outlook  is  just  the  reverse  of  Pokagon's 

flo!d':fThrAreiiir  t ::':,-  ''-r  f  -^^^  ^^-^  ^^  ^ 

fervently,  that  negro  blooTifrv^f  '^'''  ^°^"'"^'  P^^^«P«'  ^ut 

freedman  has  not  yet  fold  fn^^^^^^  '''  ''''  ^^••^^-     '^'^^ 

Shadow  Of  a  deep^disf^tntrnrel  n;orZ''%lTt/'' 

courage  any  n!tionsav:\LtlU^^^^^^  ^"^^  ^- 

an  unwritten  word     But  now  thl^  .  v  ^^s^o^u-agement  is 

of  fostering  t^e  traits  andT«l«/  7.."*^  ^^^^  appears -the  ideal 
races,  the  w^it'eVnTlScrra^X  e^^^^^^^^^^^^^  *7  --^^- 

istics  which  both  so  sadly  lack.  *^°'®  character- 

Next  to  the  changes  in  the  question  of  races  it  is  im 

wmcii  prevailed  sixty  years  ago  has  disappeared,- on  the 
one  hand  m  immense  fortunes -on  the  ofher  extreme  m 
the  slums.     Gigantic  corporations  influence  and^l 
control  legislation  in  Congress  and  in  thel^ilturefof 

The  rise  of  universities,  scientific  scliools    t>„Wi„  li 

the'ev!h;^!,!'l'?"'°'  '^ '•"»*  "*  Politi^l  machinery- 
the  evolutaon  of  bosses  who  control  by  tie  most  <!i,htl. 
agencies  the  political  action  of  the  people 


II- 


iJ     ' 


JJ    1:  « 


u^V 

Q 

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m 

k.;:,i 

iii 

SL 

■SHWaSHH- 


XXX 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


Intelligent  philanthropy,  careful  inquiry  into  the  con- 
ditions  of  the  unfortunate,  deficient,  and  vicious,  have  been 
supplemented  by  generous  contributions  for  their  im- 
nrovement  or  reformation,  by  private  individuals  as 
well  as  by  States  and  cities,  and  in  these  reformatory 
movements  women  have  borne  the  noblest  part. 

VIII 

It  is  now  time  to  turn  from  the  origin  and  reception  of 
the  "Democracy  in  America"  to  a  consideration  of  its 
contents,  most  of  which  will  be  found  to  have  permanent 
value :  a  part,  only  temporary  significance.  The  reader 
must  again  be  reminded  that  the  first  part  appeared  sev- 
eral  years  earlier  than  the  second.  Each  of  these  divi- 
sions has  a  distinct  purpose,  which  will  be  apparent  as 
this  analysis  proceeds. 

The  first  sentence  of  De  Tocqueville's  introduction  gives 
the  keynote  to  the  volume.    That  note  is  Equality.    No- 
thing in  the  United  States  struck  the  author  more  forcibly 
than  "the  general  equaUty  of  condition  among  the  peo- 
ple "    He  perceived  that  "  this  equality  of  condition  is  the 
fundamental  fact  from  which  all  others  seem  to  be  de- 
rived and  the  central  point  at  which  all  his  observations 
constantly  terminated."    He  then  turned  to  Europe  and 
"  observed  that  equality  of  condition,  though  it  has  not 
there  reached  the  extreme  limit  which  it  seems  to  have 
attained  in  the  United  States,  is  constantly  approaching 
it-  and  that  the  democracy  which  governs  the  American 
communities  appears  to  be  rapidly  rising  into  power  in 
Europe."    He  regarded  the  gradual  development  of  the 
principle  of  Equality  as  "  a  providential  fact,"-univer. 
sal    durable,  and  elusive  of  human  interference.    All 
events  and  all  men  contribute  to  its  progress.    It  ap- 
peared  to  him  that  sooner  or  later  the  French  would  ar- 
rive like  the  Americans,  at  an  almost  complete  equality 
of  condition,  though  their  form  of  government  might 


INTBODUCTION. 


XXXI 


remain  different.  He  confessed  that  in  America  he  saw 
more  than  America.  He  sought  there  the  image  of 
Democracy  itself,  with  its  inclinations,  its  character  its 
prejudices,  and  its  passions,  in  order  to  learn  what 'the 
French  have  to  fear  or  to  hope  from  its  progress 

In  view  of  these  utterances,  and  of  many  more  of  like 
tenor  It  IS  fair  to  say  that  De  TocqueviUe's  book  is  a  study 
of  Pohtical  Equality,  based  upon  phenomena  visible  in 
the  United  States  after  half  a  century  of  constitutional 
government  It  is  philosophy,  not  descriptions  nor  sta- 
tistics, which  gives  permanence  to  the  treatise,  and  makes 
It  attractive  to  each  succeeding  generation 

In  consequence  of  the  circumstances  in  which  Ameri- 
can society  was  organized,  and  especially  because  of  the 
fundamental  charges  introduced  in  the  laws  of  inheri 
tance,  there  is  "  a  greater  equality  in  point  of  fortune  and 
intellect;  or,  in  other  words,  men  are  more  equal  in  their 
strength  than  m  any  other  country  of  the  world    or  in 
any  age  of  which  history  has  preserved  the  remembrance." 
The  doctrine  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  which 
lies  at  the  basis  of  American  politics,  in  De  TocqueviUe's 
opinion,  came  out  of  the  townships,  especially  of  New 
England,  and  took  possession  of  the  state.    The  value  of 
local  self-government  or  of  provincial  institutions  was, 
therefore   distinctly  brought  out  by  the  writer.    It  was 
not  the  administrative  but  the  political  effects  of  this  de- 
centralization  that  he  most  admired.    By  constant  parti- 
cipation in  the  duties  of  the  citizen,  Americans  became 
conscious  of  their  rights  and  their  responsibilities.    Al- 
though  they  may  be  slow  in  their  acceptance  of  improve- 
ments,  and  may  often  make  great  blunders,  yet  in  his 
opimon  they  are  firm  in  opposing  every  approach  toward 
monaijchical  or  despotic  authority,  and  fully  appreciate 
the  value  of  decentralized  administration.    He  lays  undue 
emphasis  on  the  pecuUar  form  of  local  self-government, 
the  town  meeting,"  established  in  New  England,  and 
never  prevalent  throughout  the  Union,-however  firm  the 


m 


w 

1   : 

1, ; 

I 

ij 

TTrrwr-jKEaaMraaaBi 


iJ 


\\ 


xxxu 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


principle  of  popular  sovereignty.  Undoubtedly  a  paper 
entitled  '*  Observations  on  the  Government  of  Towns  in 
Massachusetts,"  prepared  for  De  Tocqueville  by  Jared 
Sparks  (a  copy  of  which  is  in  the  hands  of  his  biographer, 
Professor  H.  B.  Adams),  is  the  key  to  this  part  of  the 
Frenchman's  memoir. 

It  is  here  important  for  the  reader  to  note  that  since 
De  Tocqueville's  time,  throughout  the  vast  territory  of  the 
United  States,  more  and  more  responsibility  has  been 
thrown  upon  the  Federal  Government.    The  war  inten- 
sified this  tendency.    For  the  protection  of  the  country 
from  internal  or  external  enemies,  and  also  for  the  pro- 
motion of  commerce  between  the  States,  it  has  been 
discovered  that  the  national  authority  must  be  invoked. 
This  reliance,  however,  is  controlled  and  regulated  by 
the  deep-seated   consciousness  of  the  people  that  the 
rights  of  the  separate  States  are  not  to  be  superseded 
by  the  acts  of  the  central  government,  and  that  the 
rights  of  towns,  counties,  and  districts  are  to  be  pro- 
tected against  the  arbitrary  interference  of  legislatures. 
The  tendency  to  yield  to  the  State  the  control  of  many 
departments  of  city  government  is  also  apparent.      It 
proceeds  simultaneously  with  the  union  of  large  cities 
and  their  vicinities  into  great  and  greater  municipalities. 
It  is  associated  with  the  difficulties  involved  in  providing 
for  the  complex  requirements  of  modern  cities,  which  call 
for  the  experience  and  judgment  of  trained  experts, 
rather  than  the  common  sense  of  elected  officers  chosen 
without  experience  from  the  ranks  of  the  people. 

After  a  study  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  espe- 
cially of  the  judiciary,  De  Tocqueville  proceeds  to  inquire 
how  true  may  be  the  assertion  that  the  people  govern 
in  the  United  States.  This  introduces  the  subject  of 
parties  and  their  two  chief  weapons— newspapers  and 
public  associations.  Even  then,  the  number  of  periodical 
publications  in  this  country  was  "  incredibly  large,"  and 
the  influence  of  the  press  "immense."    The  American 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXXlll 


freedom  of  association  also  attracted  his  attention;  and 
he  spoke  of  this  freedom  as  a  protection  against  every 
form  of  tyranny.  °  ^ 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  chapters  of  De  Tocque- 
ville  s  first  volume  are  those  in  which  he  discusses  universal 
suffrage  and  the  election  laws.     Here,  as  elsewhere  his 
opinions  are  well  balanced.     To  his  surprise,  he  found 
n  he  United  States  much  talent  among  the  citizens,  but 
httle  in  the  government.    He  wrote  of  the  statesmen  of 
1831-32,  as  men  m  recent  years  have  talked  of  their 
chosen  representatives.    Asserting  that  the  race  of  Amer- 
ican statesmen  had  evidently  dwindled  most  remarkably 
m  he  course  of  the  fifty  years  previous  to  1830,  De  Tocque 
ville  argued  that  universal  suffrage  is  by  io  means  a 

that  nobody  discusses  m  1898.    He  found  the  Senate  far 
superior  to  the  House,  and  attributed  its  superiority  to 
«ie  fact  that  the  Senate  is  elected  by  elected  people;  the 
House,  by  the  people  directly.    The  absence  of  oAcial 
e^ostumes    and    badges    attracted    his,   attention:    and 
the  absence  of  unpaid  offices  he  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  prominent   signs    of  the   absolute   dominion 
which  Democracy  exercises.    The  substitution  of  paid  for 
unpaid  functionaries  was  in  his  opinion  "sufficient  to 
constitute  a  real  revolution.''    Nevertheless,  he  tSnks 
that  a  democratic  state  tends  to  be  parsimonious  toward 
It.  principal  agents.    In  America,  he  says,  the  secondary 
officers  are  much  better  paid  and  the  higher  functionaries 
muh  worse  than  elsewhere.    On  the  whole,  he  concluded 
that  the  democratic  government  of  the  Americans  "is 
not  a  cheap  government."    If  this  was  so  sixty  years  ago 
we  may  well  inquire,  What  is  it  now  ?  ' 

Then  comes  a  judicial  consideration,  extending  over 
thirty  pages  of  the  limitations  and  advantages  of  a  T 
mocracy      He  cannot  foretell  what  degree  of  effort  a 

t^r^irTT'  "^^'^  "^'^  ^^'-  international 
crisis.    He  doubts  Its  power  of  sustained  effort.    He  does 


■:■}  ill 


Wr. 


id 


HI 


m.u 


o 


■jxiVT  DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 

not  foresee  the  marvelous  determination  which  was  to  be 
put  forth,  a  generation  later,  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Union,  the  stores  of  wealth,  the  precious  lives,  the  years  of 
anxiety  which  would  be  consecrated  on  the  altar  of  patriot- 
ism.   He  does  not  suspect  the  strength  of  the  tie  which 
binds  the  United  States  together,  nor  foresee  the  sacrifices 
which  would  be  made  when  the  national  existence  was 
threatened  with  disruption.    In  trivial  things,  he  says,  a 
democracy  finds  it  dififlcult  to  conquer  the  passions  and 
desires  of  the  moment.    For  example,  fraudulent  bank- 
ruptcies, lynch  law,  and  unrestrained  drunkenness  are 
cited ;  but  the  defects  inherent  in  democratic  institutions 
are  even  more  apparent  in  the  conduct  of  foreign  affairs. 
Foreign  politics  require  the  perfect  use  of  almost  all  those 
qualities  in  which  a  democracy  is  deficient. 

On  the  whole,  the  defects  and  weaknesses  of  democratic 
government  are  obvious ;  its  advantages  require  long  ob- 
servation. A  major'  of  the  citizens  may  be  subject  to 
error,  but  they  cannot  have  an  interest  opposed  to  their 
own  welfare.  Bad  laws  may  be  passed,  but  they  are  not 
in  the  interest  of  classes.  Bad  ofiicers  may  be  chosen,  but 
their  interests  are  identified  with  those  of  a  majority  of 
their  fellow-citizens.  ''The  general  and  constant  influ- 
ence  of  the  government  is  beneficial,  although  the  indi- 
viduals who  conduct  it  are  frequently  unskilful,  and 
sometimes  contemptible." 

The  enthusiasm  of  Americans  for  their  country  strikes 
De  TocqueviUe  as  remarkable.  How  happens  it,  he  asks, 
that  immigrants,  arrived  but  yesterday,  take  such  an  inter- 
est in  its  politics,  and  he  replies,  "  Because  every  one  m  his 
sphere  takes  an  active  part  in  the  government  of  society." 
This  patriotism  is  often  irritating  and  embarrassing.  The 
words  with  which  De  TocqueviUe  expounds  the  respect  for 
rights  which  is  shown  by  Americans,  and  the  affection 
they  entertain  for  law,  are  chosen  with  sagacity.  The 
political  activity  of  Americans  is  even  more  remarkable 
than  their  liberty  and  equality. 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXXV 


Probably  the  portion  of  De  TocqueviUe's  work  which  is 
most  frequently  read  is  that  section  of  one  hundred  pages 
which  constitutes  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  chapters 
Here  he  introduces  that  significant  phrase—"  the  tvi-anny 
of  the  majority,"  which  has  so  often  been  emploVed  in 
political  discussions.  The  excessive  liberty  which  reigns 
in  the  United  States  does  not  alarm  the  observer  so  much 
as  the  inadequate  securities  against  tyranny. 

What  sort  of  tyranny  does  the  author  apprehend  ?  He 
first  mentions  the  arbitrary  authority  of  public  ofacers 
who  dare  do  things  which  even  a  European,  accustomed 
to  arbitrary  power,  is  astonished  at.  Then  he  complains 
that  there  is  so  little  independence  of  mind  and  real  free- 
dom of  discussion.  «  Freedom  of  opinion  HnP«  not  exist 
in  ' 


_  unerica,"  is  one  of  his  dicta.  He  attributes  to  the  ever 
increasing  despotism  of  the  majority  the  small  number  of 
distinguished  men  in  political  life.  "  It  seems  at  first  sight 
as  if  all  the  minds  of  the  Americans  were  formed  upon 
one  model,  so  accurately  do  they  follow  the  same  route." 
"I  know  of  no  country  in  which  there  is  so  little  inde- 
pendence of  mind  and  real  freedom  of  discussion  as  in 
America." 

In  the  perusal  of  such  passages  as  these,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  at  the  period  of  De  TocqueviUe's  visit  this 
country  was  in  a  state  of  poUtical  quiet.    The  great  anti- 
slavery  contest  had  not  begun.    If  the  visit  of  this  writer 
had  been  twenty  or  thirty  years  later  he  would  not  have 
lamented  "  the  absence  of  manly  candor  and  mascuUne 
independence.'"    Nor  would  he  think  so  now.     But  he 
might  apprehend  in  these  days,  as  be  did  in  those,  that 
the  day  may  come  when  the  omnipotence  of  the  majority 
may  urge  the  minorities  to  desperation,  and  oblige  them 
to  have  recourse  to  physical  force.    The  writings  of 
Madison  and  Jefleerson,  the  latter  'Hhe  most  powerful 
advocate  democracy  has  ever  had,"  supported  his  ap- 
prehensions. 

Nevertheless,  he  indicates  impoi-tant  counterpoises.  One 


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XXXVl 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


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of  these  is  our  decentralization.  The  governments  of 
towns,  counties,  and  States  are  "  concealed  breakwaters," 
which  check  or  part  the  tide  of  popular  determinations. 
The  profession  of  the  law  is  another  security  against  the 
excesses  of  democracy.  "Without  an  "  admixture  of  law- 
yer-like sobriety  with  the  democratic  principle,"  he  ques- 
tions whether  democratic  institutions  could  long  be  main- 
tained. Trial  by  jury  contributes,  as  he  believes,  to  the 
practical  intelligence  and  good  sense  of  the  Americans. 
"  The  jury,  which  is  the  most  energetic  means  of  making 
the  people  rule,  is  also  the  most  efficacious  means  of  teach- 
ing it  to  rule  well." 

The  author  next  discusses  three  causes  which  tend  to 
maintain  the  democratic  republic  in  the  United  States,  the 
first  of  which  is  the  peculiar  situation  of  the  country,  re- 
mote from  powerful  neighbors  and  without  a  metropolis, 
and  with  an  empty  country  to  be  brought  under  political 
control.  Historical  antecedents  are  still  potent.  He  fully 
appreciates  the  English  origin  of  the  early  settlers,  who 
bequeathed  to  their  descendants  the  customs,  manners,  and 
opinions  most  essential  to  the  success  of  a  republic.  "  Me- 
thinks  I  see  the  destiny  of  America  embodied  in  the  first 
Puritan  Avho  landed  on  these  shores,  just  as  the  whole 
human  race  was  represented  by  the  first  man."  The  sec- 
ond cause  which  contributes  to  the  stability  of  the  Amer- 
ican republic  is  found  in  the  laws,  especially  in  the  Federal 
form  of  government,  the  township  institutions,  and  the 
constitution  of  the  judicial  power.  Upon  a  third  cause 
the  author  dwells  longest.  For  this  he  uses  the  word 
mmurs,  equivalent  to  "  manners,"  although  both  in  French 
and  in  English  it  is  necessary  to  expound  the  significance 
of  the  term.  By  mceurs,  or  manners,  the  author  means 
"  the  various  notions  and  opinions  current  among  men," 
or,  as  he  says  elsewhere,  "  the  moral  and  intellectual  char- 
acteristics of  men  in  society."  Among  these  religion  must 
be  seriously  discussed ;  for  although  it  takes  no  direct  part 
in  the  government,  it  must  be  regarded  as  the  first  of 


(i 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXXVU 


political  institutions;  it  marches  hand  in  hand  with  free- 
dom. In  America  the  clergy  but  rarely  occupy  any  politi- 
cal station.  In  his  opinion,  Catholics,  as  well  as  Prot- 
estants, rejoice  in  the  separation  of  church  and  state. 
Education  is  likewise  potent,  because  of  its  universality 
Moreover,  m  the  Eastern  States  at  least.  Democracy  has 
penetrated  into  customs,  opinions,  and  forms  of  social 
intercourse.  On  the  whole,  he  concludes  that  physical 
circumstances  are  less  efficient  than  the  laws,  and  the  laws 
infinitely  less  efficient  than  the  "manners"  and  customs 
ot  the  people,- religion,  education,  and  a  democratic  in- 
stinct,-in  regulating  and  directing  American  society 

The  remainder  of  this  part  of  the  Democracy  is  devoted 
to  a  study  of  the  Indian  and  Negro  races,  and  to  the 
probability  that  the  Union  wiU  be  preserved.    All  this  part 
of  the  work  has  now  little  more  than  historical  interest- 
for,  as  every  one  knows,  the  Indians  are  nearly  gon^' 
slavery  is  quite  gone,  and  the  possible  dissolution  of  the 
Union  has  been  settled  by  the  arbitrament  of  war     The 
doctrine  of  nullification  is  almost  forgotten.    The  gov- 
ernment  of  the  United  States  has  entered  upon  new  prob- 
lems unforeseen  by  De  Tocqueville.    It  has  anxieties  and 
alarms  not  thought  of  when  he  was  here.    It  has  dangers 
tendencies,  difficulties,  that  call  for  wisdom,  patience!  ed' 
ucation,  patriotism.    But,  in  sight  of  them  all,  it  appears 
as  certain  at  the  end  of  the  nineteenth- century,  as  it  did 
fifty  years  after  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  that  the 
time  will  come,  as  De  Tocqueville  remarked  at  the  con- 
elusion  of  his  first  voluir^e, 

5nv  \w''  °"^  ^"''^'^'^  ^°^  fifty  millions  of  men  will  be  living 
m  North  Amenca,  equal  in  condition,  all  belonging  to  one  family! 
owng  heir  ongin  to  the  same  cause,  and  preserving  the  same 
civilization,  the  same  language,  the  same  religion,  the  same  habits, 

gated  under  the  same  forms.  The  rest  is  uncertain;  but  this  Is 
certam,  and  it  is  a  fact  new  to  the  world -a  fact  which  the  ima- 
gination  strives  m  vain  to  grasp. 


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XSXVm  DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 

The  keynote  to  the  second  part  of  the  "  Democracy  in 
America  "  is  given  in  the  author's  advertisement.  Many 
feelings  and  opinions  which  were  unknown  in  aristocratic 
societies  of  the  old  world  have  been  created  in  the  new. 
To  a  considerable  extent  these  are  due  to  "the  principle 
of  Equality."  He  proceeds  to  discuss  the  influence  of  this 
principle  upon  intellectual  life,  feelings,  "manners,"  and 
the  development  of  political  society. 

To  many  readers  this  portion  of  the  treatise  is  the 
most  interesting  and  suggestive,  quite  possibly  because 
of  the  quaUty  which  Mr.  Bryce  has  termed    ediflcatory 
The  author  continually  appears  as  one  who  would  like  to 
influence  the  healthy  development  of  democratic  govern- 
ment     He  is  not  merely  a  pathologist  pointing  out  the 
nature  of  poUtical  diseases.    He  is  a  physician  whose 
diagnosis  suggests  treatment.      In  the  opinion  of  De 
Tocqueville,  the  Americans  have  but  Httle  interest  in  po- 
litical philosophy.     They  have  more  receptivity  for  gen- 
eral ideas  than  the  English,  but  they  have  less  than  the 
French.    In  the  maintenance  of  their  religion  the  Ameri- 
cans care  comparatively  little  for  forms     This  is  as  true 
of  the  Roman  Catholics  as  of  all  other  Christians.    The 
clergy  keep  aloof  from  political  entanglements.    Roman 
Catholicism  on  the  one  hand  and  Pantheism  on  the 
other  make  advances. 

The  next  theme  that  is  discussed  may  bring  a  smile  to 
the  face  of  the  Americans  of  to-day.  "  The  example  of 
the  Americans  does  not  prove  that  a  democratic  people 
can  have  no  aptitude  and  no  taste  for  science,  literature, 
or  art "  Yet  it  is  to  practical  rather  than  to  theoretical 
science  that  the  Americans  naturaUy  turn.  In  the  arts 
they  seek  not  so  much  for  the  highest  excellence  as  tor 
wide  acceptability.  They  raise  some  insignificant  monu- 
ments and  others  that  are  very  grand. .  Properly  speaking, 
says  De  TocquevUle,  the  United  States  "have  at  present 
no  literature."  "The  only  authors  whom  I  acknowledge 
as  American  are  journalists."    He  urges  all  who  aspire 


iHi 


INTRODUCTION.  ^xxix 

to  literary  exceUence  in  democratic  nations  "to  refresh 
themselves  frequently  at  the  springs  of  ancient  litera- 

A  A'   I    ?'  *^^^  *^^  ^°^^^«^  language  has  been 
modified  by  the  Americans,  and  that  they  have  yielded  to 
the  democratic  tendency  to  make  use  of  abstract  words 
He  adduces  his  own  use  of  the  word  Equality  as  an  illus- 
tration.   A  writer  of  the  age  of  Louis  XIV  would  never 
have  thought  of  using  the  word  EquaUty  without  applv- 
ing  It  to  some  particular  thing.    De  TocqueviUe  even  ven- 
tures to  speculate  upon  the  themes  that  democratic  poets 
will  select.    Legends  and  traditions,  supernatural  beings 
and  personifications -all  these  wUl  fail  himj  "but  man 
remains,  and  the  poet  needs  no  more."    Inflation  is  the 
snare  to  which  poets  and  orators  are  alike  exposed     The 
tendency  of  the  drama  is  not  elevating.    Even  historical 
writings  will  be  modified  by  democratic  environment 

When  the  author  proceeds  to  a  study  of  the  influence 
of  democracy  on  the  feelings  of  Americans,  he  afiirms 
tnat  t  je  first  and  most  intense  passion  which  is  produced 
by  equaUty  of  conditions  is  the  love  of  that  equaUty    In- 
dividualism often  appears  on  an  exaggerated  scale,  but 
Its  evils  are  opposed  by  free  institutions,  which  tend  to 
secure  the  attention  of  rich  and  poor  alike  to  public  af- 
fairs.   Associations  of  every  kind  are  formed.    "Wher- 
ever at  the  head  of  some  new  undertaking  you  see  the 
government  in  France,  or  a  man  of  rank  in  England  in 
the  United  States  you  wiU  be  sure  to  find  an  association  " 
Newspapers  are  the  natural  outgrowth  of  associations 
and  the  power  of  the  press  must  increase  as  the  social 
conditions  of  men  become  more  equal.    America  is  the 
one  country  on  the  face  of  the  earth  where  the  citizens 
enjoy  unlimited  freedom  of  association  for  political  pur- 
poses.     The  principle  of  interest,  rightly  understood,  is 
applied  to  the  restraint  of  individuahsm  and  also  to  the 
promotion  of  religion.    Several  chapters  are  devoted  to 
the  love  of  enjoyment.    The  traveler  is  apparently  sur- 
prised by  what  seems  most  natural,  the  wide-spread  de- 


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DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


'i  •' 

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sire  for  physical  comfort,  which  often  (as  it  appears  to 
him)  amounts  to  a  passion.  Although  the  desire  of  ac- 
quiring the  good  things  of  this  world  is  the  prevailing 
passion  of  the  Americans,  now  and  then  there  are  out- 
bursts of  fanaticism.  The  Americans  are  serious  and 
sad  even  in  their  pleasures.  There  are  few  idle  men. 
Religion  exercises  a  dominant  force.  Almost  all  Ameri- 
cans follow  industrial  callings,  and  they  carry  their  busi- 
nesslike qualities  even  into  agriculture.  From  the  build- 
ing up  of  manufactures,  there  is  danger  that  an  aristocracy 
may  be  established.  "  If  ever  a  permanent  inequality  of 
conditions  and  aristocracy  again  penetrate  into  the  world, 
this  is  the  gate  by  which  they  will  enter." 

The  third  book  of  the  second  part  is  devoted  to  the 
"  manners  properly  so  called "  of  the  Americans.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  give  a  summary  of  this  part  of  the 
work,  because  it  is  so  full  of  special  observations  upon 
minor  points,  such  as  the  easy  intercourse  of  Americans 
with  one  another,  their  sensitiveness  to  criticism,  and 
their  national  vanity,  the  relations  of  masters  and  ser- 
vants, rents,  wages,  and  education.  The  aspect  of  society 
he  finds  at  once  excited  and  monotonous.  The  author 
discovers  an  innumerable  multitude  who  seek  to  emerge 
from  their  original  condition,  but  hardly  any  appear  to 
entertain  hopes  of  great  magnitude  or  to  pursue  very  lofty 
aims.  This  surprises  him.  From  these  remarks  upon 
American  habits,  De  Tocqueville  passes  on  to  the  con- 
sideration of  revolutions  and  wars.  In  this  section  he 
appears  to  be  governed  by  the  lessons  of  philosophy  and 
the  experience  of  history  rather  than  by  his  scrutiny  of 
American  affairs.   France,  not  America,  is  before  his  eyes. 

The  same  remark  applies  to  book  fourth,  which  is  a 
summary  of  the  author's  political  philosophy,  derived 
from  observation,  reflection,  comparison,  and  from  the 
teachings  of  other  ages.  The  one  general  idea  underly- 
ing this  section  is  this :  that  whereas  in  the  ages  of  aris- 
tocracy there  were  private  persons  of  great  power  and  a 


INTRODUCTION. 

almost  omnipoteTaTd^pH^^Xrrlt  "'^""•^ 
and  more  into  the  lowest  stn„.r„7      f       "'"^  """''= 

"would  tiy  a  litrml!  t„  *'''', ''Si^''"<»^  <>*  the  day, 

they  would  never  forr-LTf'  ?'"'  "'"'"  ■""»  *''''' 

main  strong  when  ZZJ   I  f  ''^*""'  """"o*  I'^S  >■«-       /.  r/" 

ally  weak,  a^d  aat  Zr       '°''^''^'»  '*  « indi^du-   J>^"' 

polity  can'make  TeZ,^^Z>lT^T'"'  "*  W 

of  pusillanimons  anrt  »?Hf  j    •  .     *  °'  *  community/ 

words  of  th7"Demoera.t      1  '"*'''°' "     ^^-^  "'"^'-a 

key.    The  si^uTtZZwerLT::^:!'',  *"  t  "^4 

sees  "saddens  and  chills"  the  n^TrT*^  *'  ^^  *•»•«■ 

Ml  of  "appreheusionfandte  Hen^""-    °'  '^ 
dangers  in  demoeraev  h„t  i    I,-    ^*P«'^<=«ives  mighty 

avoided  or  alleys  Vthe,^  r    'T  *"""  t^eymay  be 

oannot  prevent  t^SSonf  7 'n  7^  \   "'^''^y 
equal;  but  it   denenrf=  """"^  "*  men  from  becoming 

principle  of  4^  fyt  o  ^^themT'™'  "'''""'^  *''« 
dom;   to   knLledL   or  I.  1,  ''"''•'''*  <>'•  free- 

wretchedness."    ^  barbansm,  to  prosperity  or 

tions  will  be  p^sented     *'"'"™^'.t''->  <>'  ^^ee  observa- 

of  many  an  unSlru,itt  oTm'  "'  '"P"'  '"^  "*-' 
former,  of  many  an  ableThTlosopher  T.'  '"""°''"'  '^■ 
mte,  but  the  thought  under  X  th!'  "^  ""^  "««■ 

One  set  of  neonle  w.L  „  .  ''^^  *''°  ""^  ^"^  iU-deflned. 
standing.  SC^et  t''  T'  ^  "1"'^"^ '"  P°««eal 
wished  ^to  bring  Tme^  u"p"n  ^,h  """  ^  "^  "«'°^  "P' 


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DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


II 


in  the  abstract,  without  any  consideration  of  its  meaning. 
The  multitude  accepted  the  words  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  De  Tocqueville  came  to  this  new  country, 
and  found  not  only  political  equality,  but  an  absence  of 
noteworthy  social  distinctions.  There  was  no  rich  class, 
no  fasliionable  class ;  there  were  no  families  of  inherited 
importance,  no  privileged  people.  His  opening  sentence, 
already  quoted,  is  this :  "  Amongst  the  novel  objects  that 
attracted  my  attention  during  my  stay  in  the  United  States, 
nothing  struck  me  more  forcibly  than  the  general  equality 
of  condition  among  the  people."  And  just  afterward  he 
says :  "  The  more  I  advanced  in  the  study  of  American 
society,  the  more  I  perceived  that  this  equality  of  condition 
is  the  fundamental  fact  from  which  all  others  seem  to  be 
derived,  and  the  central  point  at  which  all  my  observa- 
tions constantly  terminated."  Again :  "  The  gradual  de- 
velopment of  the  principle  of  equality  is,  therefore,  a 
providential  fact.  It  has  all  the  chief  characteristics  of 
such' a  fact:  it  is  universal,  it  is  durable,  it  constantly 
eludes  all  human  interference,  and  all  events  as  well  as  all 
men  contribute  to  its  progress." 

To-day  it  must  be  obvious  to  every  observer  that  equal- 
ity of  condition  such  as  De  Tocqueville  saw,  or  thought 
that  he  saw,  does  not  exist.  There  are  inherent  inequali- 
ties of  physical  and  psychological  conditions;  there  are 
inequalities  in  habits  of  thrift,  industry,  obedience,  and 
rectitude ;  there  are  inequalities  of  possession  and  of  op- 
portunities for  acquisition ;  and  there  are  those  inequali- 
ties of  inherited  education,  desires,  needs,  preferences,  and 
tastes  which  diversify  modern  life  and  make  civilized  men 
superior  to  the  monotonous,  undeveloped  multitudes  of 
barbarous  and  savage  people.  Variety  and  diversity, 
producing  an  interchange  of  products  and  relations,  are 
far  more  characteristic  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 
to-day  than  equality  of  condition.  Such  inequality  is  ex- 
pounded and  defended  in  a  recent  suggestive  volume.^ 
1  "Inequality  and  Progress,"  by  Professor  George  Harris. 


DtTBODDOTIOlf.  ^jj 

But  freedom  from  traditional  fetters,  from  social  bar. 
r.ers,  from  injustice  before  the  law,  from  eecle«^tic^ 
domimon  from  governmental  oppression,  is  moTtk^. 

The  second  word  is  one  of  hope.  The  outlook  for  dem- 
ocratic government  is  favorable.  It  takes  time  to  en- 
hghten  the  people.  On  certain  subjects-for  example  on 
the  pnnciiJes  of  wise  national  financiering,  and  o^  the 

proper  methods  o  municipal  administration  _  knowledge 
s  stm  hnuted  to  a  comparatively  small  number  rf 
thonghtf-il  persons.  But  discussion  is  so  free  Tthe 
newspapers,  on  the  platform,  in  the  magazines,  among  the 
social  organizations,  upon  the  ears,  in  the  f^tories  and 
s  ores,  that  bght  spreads  steadUy  from  one  person  to  an 
other.  The  student  of  history,  famUiar  w«h  the  slow 
achievements  of  the  race  as  it  has  emerged  from  igZ 

Zt  thrretnV"?T,'"r'  """^  ^^'"'''y'  """y  ^  ^-e 
that  there  wiU  be,  in  the  long  run,  no  backward  steps 

Democracy  is  undoubtedly  established  in  Europe  and 

America  for  a  long  period  to  eome.    An  emperor  may  be 

the  chief  of  the  state,  like  Louis  Napoleon,  "by  the  .^ace 

of  God  and  the  will  of  the  French  peopk",  or  a ^Tu^n 

may  reign  with  undisturbed  supremacy,  fo^  more  thin 

sjxty  years,  over  a  people  that  make  theS  ownTaws  •  t  a 

term;  or  there  may  be  a  senate  or  a  directory:  yet 

tamed    whether  the  authority  be   that  of  usurpation 

torce.  It  IS  Idle  to  dechiun  against  its  increasing  suprem- 
acy, or  to  claim  with  the  flatterers  of  Canute,  that  wives 
can  be  kept  back  by  an  edict.  The  sway  of  democrac^m^ 
be  regulated,  its  methods  of  government  may  be  perfected 
and  Its  dangers  may  be  counteracted  b/constS 
orces,  but  its  gra«p  of  the  political  institutions  07^ 
em  l^urope  and  of  this  land  is  not  likely  to  weaken 


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xliv 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


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Nor  is  this  influence  felt  in  politics  only.  In  ecclesias- 
tical affairs  the  voice  of  the  laity  is  more  and  more  influ- 
ential. An  august  assembly  of  bishops  of  the  Anglican 
communion  has  gone  so  far  as  to  say  that  public  opinion 
is  recognized  as  the  greatest  of  forces  in  these  days.  In 
education,  the  will  of  the  people  has  broken  away  from 
many  traditions  which  wise  and  learned  men  have  hitherto 
regarded  as  of  the  first  importance. 

Thirdly,  democracy  often  thwarts  its  own  purposes  and 
brings  about  results  quite  foreign  to  its  interests.  In  two 
fundamental  matters,  the  making  of  laws  and  the  election 
of  public  officers,  the  behests  of  the  people  are  often  dis- 
obeyed.    Let  us  consider  both  these  points. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  the  national  and  State  legisla- 
tures important  measures  are  carried  through  without 
debate  or  careful  consideration.  Long  ago  it  was  shown 
that  congressional  government  was  "a  government  by 
committees."  Recent  events  have  shown  that  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  can  exercise  almost  absolute  power.  In  the 
latest  stages  of  legislation,  some  very  significant  clause 
may  be  inserted  in  a  bill  of  national  importance,  without 
the  knowledge  even  of  the  chairman  of  the  committee 
supposed  to  be  in  charge  of  the  business.  Such  a  condi- 
tion has  been  called  "  legislative  paralysis." 

As  a  remedy,  the  "referendum"  has  been  proposed^ 
and,  to  a  limited  extent,  has  been  employed,  in  order  that 
the  popular  wiU  might  find  expression ;  but  this  is  only 
shifting  the  responsibility  from  a  body  which  is  chosen 
for  deliberation  and  judicious  action  to  a  multitude 
that  can  do  little  more  than  say  yes  or  no  to  a  proposition 
presented  to  them,  without  the  rectification  of  details. 

The  difficulties  encountered  in  selecting  as  public  officers 
the  men  whom  the  people  would  prefer  are  constantly 
multiplying.  The  party  machinery  is  more  and  more 
potent,  more  and  more  intricate  and  mysterious  to  the 
average  voter.  The  "  bosses  "  who  are  in  control  are  set 
against  independent  movements.    They  hate  the  irregu- 


INTRODUCTION. 


xlv 


lars.  They  denounce  spUt  tickets,  bolts,  citizens'  unions 
and  other  devices  by  which  the  party  supremacy  may  be 
weakened.  They  make  it  as  disagreeable  as  they  can  for 
outsiders  to  run  as  candidates.  Each  party  brands  with 
opprobrious  epithets  those  who  leave  its  own  ranks-al 
though  one  aim  of  party  organization  is  to  make  converts 
from  the  opposite  party. 

The  notes  of  alarm  regarding  the  decadence  of  the  leg- 
islative systems  of  the  United  States  are  numerous. 
Unless  the  present  tendencies  are  corrected,  confusion 
and  error  will  not  be  the  greatest  evils.  Much  is  to  be 
feared  from  the  machinations  oi  individuals,  corporations 
"trusts,"  and  other  associated  bodies,  who  will  seek  for 
private  advantages,  and  gain  them,  without  respect  to  the 
welfare  of  society  at  large. 

Nor  is  the  evil  confined  to  this  country.    Other  nations 
may  follow  the  example  of  the  United  States,  and,  viewing 
our  material  prosperity,  may  justify  their  procedures  by 
American  precedents.    Indeed,  there  is  reason  to  appre- 
hend  a  crisis  in  the  progress  of  political  liberty.    A  writer 
m  France  has  recently  reviewed  the  methods  of  parlia- 
mentary action  in  England,  Germany,  Austria,  Belgium 
and  Italy,  and  the  record  is  full  of  reasons  for  serious 
alarm.     "Does  young  America,"  he  asks,  "give  us  the 
consolation  of  a  better  state  of  things  ?    An  impartial  ob- 
server cannot  paint  in  rose  colors  the  moral  and  political 
condition  of  that  great  country  beyond  the  sea." 

Finally,  in  view  of  all  these  comminglings  of  hope  and 
fear,  the  perusal  of  De  Tocqueville's  treatise  will  set  any 
patriot  to  thinking  upon  the  foundations  of  our  govern- 
ment-upon  the  tendencies  toward  evil  and  toward  good 
of  democracy.  It  wiU  increase  his  trust  in  republican  in- 
stitutions.  It  will  lead  him  to  study  history,  that  store- 
house of  human  experience,  that  arsenal  of  politics. 

As  he  reads,  he  will  be  impressed  by  the  fact  that  this 
country  has  passed  through  many  crises.  It  has  repeat- 
edly  been  scathed.     Wars,  panics,  financial  difficulties. 


\  1 

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zlvi 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


grave  apprehensions,  obvious  dangers,  have  beset  the 
republic.  Its  progress  has  not  been  by  serene  and  peace- 
ful development,  like  the  unfolding  of  a  hot-house  plant, 
—  but  by  such  "  storm  and  stress "  as  hardens  the  oak. 
Every  generation  has  experienced  great  trials,  yet  the 
vigor  of  the  people  has  not  been  impaired.  Their  hope, 
their  courage,  their  self-reliance,  their  belief  in  the  prin- 
ciple of  self-government,  is  stronger  than  ever. 

The  country  looks  toward  the  future  with  calm  serenity, 
even  now,  in  the  opening  of  a  costly  foreign  war.  It  is 
confident  that  whatever  mistakes  have  been  or  may  be 
made,  whatever  obstacles  or  foes  are  encountered,  the 
improvements  in  government  that  have  been  secured  by 
the  experience  and  example  of  the  United  States  are  a 
permanent  gain  to  the  human  race,  and  that  the  united 
forces  of  this  people  will  continue  to  work  together  for 
the  support  of  liberty,  fraternity,  and  democracy. 

As  for  the  author,  his  fame  is  secure.  To  him  may  be 
fitly  applied  the  words  inscribed  beneath  the  statue  in 
London  of  the  illustrious  Harvey:   ''ViRO  monumentis 

SUIS  IMMORTALI." 

D.  C.  GiLMAN. 
Johns  Hopkins  University, 
Baltimore,  April,  1898, 


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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 

The  full  name  of  the  author  of  this  work  is  Alexis 
Clu.rles-Henn  Clerel  de  Tocqueville.   Among  the  French 

rnti:l?''".''"  ''"^^"^^"^^'  «^^  so'also  amont 
lecent  ±.ngli8h  writers,  e.  s.,  Leckv    '<  nPTnr.««o  ^ 

Senior,  '  Correspondeuee,"  etc.    But  as  the  uZ  In  this 
country  has  been  to  say  "  De  ToequeviUe,"  it  has  been  de 
cded,  in  the  present  volumes,  to  adhere  to  this  fo™, 
The  first  part  of  the  I>^oeratie  en  A,nM,„e  a^eared 

840  bvr"'' '"  f '"'"'"•^'  ''''^'  ■"">  "  was  followed    „ 
1840,  by  the  second  part,  likewise  in  two  volumes     The 

first  English  translation  was  by  Henry  Reeve  and  an 

Zt"ki:t;AV''r%™^  --  ^^r>roZt,t 
aew  lork  in  18u8-40,  with  preface  and  notes  by  John  C 

Spencer     Reeve's  translation  was  revised  and  larg^W  ^" 

written  by  Professor  Francis  Bowen  of  Harvard  CoUe^ 

and  published  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in  1862  ^It 

IS  this  translation  that  is  here  given. 

There  is  one  standard  collection  of  the  writings  of  De 
TocquevOle,  published  at  intervals  from  1860  to^865  in 
nine  octavo  volumes,  namely :  ' 

(1)  De  la  Mmoemtie  en  AmMqite,  3  vols 

(2)  ^'Ancien  regime  et  la  Bholution  i&rat  edition  1856) 
n  the  same  year  English  translations  appeared    inLon 

don,  by  Henry  Reeve;  in  New  York,  by  John  Bonner" 

mSs  of  tt*  ™'T  "'  '"^  ™*  ™^  -ittenrthe Xg: 
ments  of  the  second  are  mentioned  below 

iS)muvres  et  cofrespondance  inMites,  2  vols,  (published 

xlvii 


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BIBLIOGRAPHIOAL  NOTE. 


Hi;i!i 


in  1860 ;  English  translation,  with  large  additions,  Lon- 
don and  Boston,  1861). 

(4)  Nouvelle  correspondance  inMite  (1865). 

(5)  Melanges,  fragments  historiques  et  notes  sur  VAncien 
regime,  la  B4volution,  et  VEmpire;  Voyages;  Pens4es  (1865). 

(6)  J^tudes  4conomiques,  poUtiques  et  UttSraires  (1865). 
To  the  above  should  he  added  the  volume  written  in 

collaboration  with  his  friend  G.  de  Beaumont,  entitled  Dm 
Syst^mepinitentiaire  am  J^tats-TJnis  (Paris,  1832),  embody- 
ing the  results  of  their  official  mission  to  this  country.  A 
translation  of  this,  by  Francis  Lieber,  appeared  in  Phila- 
delphia the  following  year.  Mention  must  be  made,  like- 
wise, of  a  recent  volume,  entitled  Souvenirs  (Paris,  1893), 
translated  and  published  in  English  under  the  title  Remi- 
niscences (London  and  New  York,  1896).  This  volume  is 
restricted  to  notes  on  current  political  aflfairs  in  the  period 
immediately  following  the  abdication  of  Louis  Philippe. 

For  the  biography  and  critical  estimates  of  De  Tocque- 
ville,  the  following  may  be  consulted:  De  Beaumont's 
Notice  in  the  first  volume  of  the  (Euvres  et  correspondance 
inMites,  mentioned  above  (the  Notice  was  separately  re- 
printed, Paris,  1896) ;  the  Nouvelle  Uographie  g4n4rale;  an 
article  by  Remusat  in  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes  for 
August  1, 1856 ;  Sainte-Beuve,  Causeries  du  lundi  {passim) 
and  Nouveaux  lundis,  Vol.  X ;  the  JHscours  de  reception  d 
V Academic  frangaise  (1861),  by  Lacordaire,  who  was  elected 
to  De  Tocqueville's  seat,  and  the  Riponse  of  Guizot ;  E. 
Laboulaye,  L'jStat  et  ses  limites  (1863),  in  which  there  is 
also  an  essay  on  De  Tocqueville ;  F.  A.  A.  Mignet,  Nouveaux 
Sloges  historiques  (1877) ;  and  the  recently  published  volume 
by  E.  d'Eichthal,  Alexis  de  Tocqueville  et  la  Bemocratie 
liberale  (1897).  In  German  there  is  a  volume  by  Jaques, 
which  appeared  in  Vienna  in  1876.  In  English,  besides 
the  Notice  by  De  Beaumont  in  the  previously  mentioned 
translation  of  the  (Euvres  et  correspondance  inidites,  the 
following  are  noteworthy :  the  Correspondence  and  Conver- 
sations of  Alexis  de  Tocqueville  ivith  N  W.  Senior,  edited  by 


1  i: 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE.  ^j. 

volume  Of  hi,  w^.j^'i'^^ixf.^rjres 

ue  lo^uenUe,  which  appeared  in  the  fifth  series  of  H,. 

^a.heeons„ItedinthevoI..eso/Si:i::? 
i)wl^e!' t*:''''  *"  "'''  *■""  '"  "'^  y»'  ^I'^n  the 


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AUTHOR'S  ADVERTISEMENT 

TO  THE  TWELFTH  EDITION.* 


LTOWEVEE  a,dden  and  momentous  the  event, 

phshed    the  author  of  this  book  has  a  rightTo 
say  that  they  have  not  taken  him  by  sufse^ 
H.S  work  was  written   fifteen  years  [go,  wUh  a 
mmd  constantly  occupied  by  a  single  thought,  - 
hat  the  advent  of  democracy  as  a  gov!™  ng 
power  m  the  world's  a&irs,  universal  and  irre^ 
sistible,  was  at  hand.     Let  it  be  read  over  aga  n 
and  there  wll  be  found  on  every  page  a  soTmn 
warnmg    hat  society  changes  it.  forms,  humanly 
.ts  cond,tion,  and  that  new  destinies  a  e  impeTl 
mg.    It  was  stated  in  the  very  Introduction  of  the 
work,  that  « the  gradual  development  of  the  prTn! 
cple  of  Equality  is  a  providential  fact.     It  has^ 
the  ch.ef  characteristics  of  such  a  fact;  it  is  un 
versal,  .t  .s  durable,  it  constantly  eludes  all  hum";. 

■»=  of  hi.  work.  _  Am. 7°  """  "f  "'"  "^^  "  "■=  '"olfth  «ii- 


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interference,  and  all  events  as  well  as  all  men 
contribute  to  its  progress.  Would  it  be  wise  to 
imagine  that  a  social  movement,  the  causes  of 
which  lie  so  far  back,  can  be  checked  by  the  ef- 
forts of  one  generation  ?  Can  it  be  believed  that 
the  democracy,  which  has  overthrown  the  feudal 
system  and  vanquished  kings,  will  retreat  before 
tradesmen  and  capitalists  ?  Will  it  stop  now  that 
it  is  grown  so  strong  and  its  adversaries  so  weak?" 
He  who  wrote  these  lines  in  the  presence  of  a 
monarchy  which  had  been  rather  confirmed  than 
shaken  by  the  Revolution  of  1830,  may  now  fear- 
lessly ask  again  the  attention  of  the  public  to  his 
work.  And  he  may  be  permitted  to  add,  that  the 
present  state  of  affairs  gives  to  his  book  an  imme- 
diate interest  and  a  practical  utility  which  it  had 
not  when  it  was  first  published.  Royalty  was  then 
in  power;  it  has  now  been  overthrown.  The  in- 
stitutions of  America,  which  were  a  subject  only 
of  curiosity  to  monarchical  France,  ought  to  be  a 
subject  of  ptudy  for  republican  France.  It  is  not 
force  alone,  but  good  laws,  which  give  stability  to 
a  new  government.  After  the  combatant,  comes 
the  legislator ;  the  one  has  pulled  down,  the 
other  builds  up;  each  has  his  office.  Though  it 
is  no  longer  a  question  whether  we  shall  have  a 
monarchy  or  a  republic  in  France,  we  are  yet  to 
learn  whether  we  shall  have  a  convulsed  or  a 
tranquil  republic,  —  whether  it  shall  be  regular 
or  irregular,  pacific  or  v»^arlike,  liberal  or  oppres- 
sive,—  a  republic  which  menaces  the  s;.cred  rights 
of  property  and  famil}^  or  one  which  honors  and 


liii 


AUTHOR'S  ADVERTISEMENT. 

protects  them  both.    It  is  a  fearful  problem,  the 
solution  of  which  concern,  not  France  alone,  but 
the  whole  civilized  world.    If  we  save  ourselves 
we  save  at  the  same  time  all  the  nations  which 
surround  us.    If  we  perish,  we  shall  cause  all  of 
them  to  perish  with  us.    According  as  democratic 
iberty  or  democratic  tyranny  is  established  here 
the  destmy  of  the  world  will  be  different;  and  it 
may  be  said  that  this  day  it  depends  upon  us, 
whether  the  republic  shall  be  everywhere  finally 
established,  or  everywhere  finally  overthrown 

Now  this  problem,  which  among  us   has   but 
)ust  been   proposed   for  solution,  was  solved   by 
America  more  than  sixty  years  ago.      The  prin- 
ciple of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  which  we 
enthroned   m   France   but   yesterday,   has    there 
held  undivided  sway  for  over  sixty  years.    It  is 
there  reduced  to  practice  in  the  most  direct,  the 
most  unhmited,  and  the  most  absolute   manner 
For  sixty  years,  the  people  who  have  made  it  the 
common  source  of  all  their  laws  have  increased 
contmually  in  population,  in  territory,  and  in  opu- 
lence; and -consider  it  well -it  is  found  to  have 
been,  during  that  period,  not  only  the  most  pros- 
perous, but  the  most  stable,  of  all  the  nations  of 
he  earth.     Whilst  all  the  nations  of  Europe  have 
been  devastated  by  war  or  torn  by  civil  discord, 
the  American  people  alone  in  the  civilized  worid 
have  remained  at  peace.    Almost  all  Europe  was 
convulsed  by  revolutions  ;   America  has  not  had 
even  a  revolt.*    The  republic  there  has  not  been 

•  THank  God  ,h.,  ,1,1.  i,  hi.,„n.,  ,h„„^h  u  ,,  „„.  ,t,  p^,„,  ,^     .^^^ 


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the  assailant,  but  the  guardian,  of  all  vested  rights; 
the  property  of  individuals  has  had  better  guaran- 
ties there  than  in  any  other  country  of  the  world ; 
anarchy  has  there  been  as  unknown  as  despotism. 
Where  else  could  we  find  greater  causes  of 
hope,  or  more  instructive  lessons  ?  Let  us  look 
to  America,  not  in  order  to  make  a  servile  copy 
of  the  institutions  which  she  has  established, 
but  to  gain  a  clearer  view  of  the  polity  which 
will  be  the  best  for  us;  let  us  look  there  less  to 
find  examples  than  instruction;  let  us  borrow  from 
her  the  principles,  rather  than  the  details,  of  her 
laws.  The  laws  of  the  French  republic  may  be, 
and  ought  to  be,  in  many  cases,  different  from 
those  which  govern  the  United  States;  but  the 
principles  on  which  the  American  constitutions 
rest,  —  those  principles  of  order,  of  the  balance  of 
powers,  of  true  liberty,  of  deep  and  sincere  respect 
for  right, — are  indispensable  to  all  republics;  they 
ought  to  be  common  to  all ;  and  it  may  be  said 
beforehand,  that  wherever  they  shall  not  be  found, 
the  republic  will  soon  have  ceased  to  exist. 

1848. 

record  of  what  our  country  has  been,  and  of  what  she  accomplished  during 

three  quarters  of  a  century,  is  beyond  the  power  even  of  a  gigantic  rebellion 

to  blot  out.     Let  only  the  faint-hearted,  on  looking  into  the  past,  exclaim, 

with  the  great  Italian, 

"  Nessun  maggior  dolore 
Che  ricordarsi  del  tempo  felice 
Nella  miseria." 

Nobler  spirits  will  say,  though  the  memory  of  what  has  been  be  the  only 
star  which  shines  in  the  thick  darkness  thit  now  surrounds  us,  it  shall  light 
08  on  to  mightier  efforts,  and  kindle  in  ottr  hearts  a  surer  hope  of  the  re- 
appearance of  the  day,  —  of  a  day  whose  sunshine  shall  not  be  broken  even 
by  the  one  dark  cloud  that  dimmed  our  former  prosperitv Am.  Ed.  1862 


I         'I 


'!".    '|ii 


CONTENTS 

Introduction page 

Bibliographical  Note     . ^ 

Author's  Advertisement     . ^'^i 

Author's  Introduction  ^ 

J '       '_ 1 

CHAPTER  I. 

Exterior  Form  op  North  America 

19 

CHAPTER  II. 

55 

CHAPTER  III. 

Social  Condition  of  the  Anglo-Americans 
The  striking  Characteristic  of  the  Social  Cnn^ir     \  1      '        '    ^^ 

Americans  is  its  essential  Democracr  '^°^'"- 

PoUMcal  Consequences  of  the  Social  Condition  of  the  Anglo'-Amlr-    '' 

67 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  American  System  of  Townships  '^ 

Limits  of  the  Township    .  74 

Powers  of  the  Township  in  New  England ^^        ^ 

Life  in  the  Township  77 

Spirit  of  the  Townships  of  New  England ^« 

The  Counties  of  New  England                             ^^ 

, 86 

Iv 


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Ivi  CONTENTS. 

_^  PAGE 

-^    The  Administration  of  Government  in  New  England         ...      87 
■~    General  Remarks  on  the  Administration  in  the  United  States      .         99 

Or  THE  State 104 

Legislative  Power  of  the  State 104 

The  Executive  Power  of  the  State        .       .        .       ,        .       .        .106 
Political  Effects  of  decentralized  Administration  In  the  United  States    107 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Judicial   Power  in  the   United   Statijp,   and  its    Influence 
ON  Political  Society 123 

Other  Powers  granted  to  American  Judges      .....       130 


CHAPTER  VII. 
Political  Jurisdiction  in  the  United  States 


133 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Federal  Constitution ,       ,  140 

History  of  the  Federal  Constitution  . 140 

Summary  of  the  Federal  Constitution 143 

Powers  of  the  Federal  Government 144 

Legislative  Powers  of  the  Federal  Government 147 

A  further  Difference  between  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives         150 

The  Executive  Power 151 

In  what  the  Position  of  a  President  of  the  United  States  differs 

from  that  of  a  Constitutional  King  of  France    ....  153 
Accidental  Causes  which  may  increase  the  Influence  of  the  Execu- 
tive Government 158 

Why  the  President  of  the  United  States  does  not  need  a  Majority 

in  the  two  Houses  in  Order  to  carry  on  the  Government        .  159 

Election  of  the  President 160 

Mode  of  Election 166 

Crisis  of  the  Election 170 

Re-election  of  the  President 172 

Federal  Courts  of  Justice I75 

Means  of  determining  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Federal  Courts        .  179 

Different  Cases  of  Jurisdiction I8I 

Procedure  of  the  Federal  Courts 187 

High  Rank  of  the  Supreme  Court  amongst  the  great  Powers  of  State  190 


f\ 


'   -fc^ 


CONTENTS.  i_i| 

'°  "stir"''  *':  Federal  Constitution  Is  superior  to  that  of  the'"" 
Cha^cterifltics  of  the  Pe'derai  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of    ^^^ 

"^^  the  1^:?:?  T" ""  ""''  P''"^'"^'^  '-  *"  Nations',  and  how    '"^ 
the  Anglo-Americans  were  enabled  to  adopt  It         .    '*°*' '*'*''   ^^ 

CHAPTER  IX. 

How     IT     CAN     BE     STRIOTI.V     OArn     .«^.-.  ^ 

219 

CHAPTER  X. 

Parties  in  the  United  States 

Remains  of  the  Aristocratic  Party  in  the  United  States'  .'.'  .Z 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Liberty  OF  THE  Press  IN  THE  United  STATE8      ....       230 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Political  Associations  in  THE  United  States        .       .       .       .    242    $^ 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Government  of  the  Democracy  in  America 
Universal  Suffrage  •        •        •       .        ^2 

Instability  of  the  Administration  in  the  United  Stat«',       '        '        •    265 

' 279    --- 


J 


!il 


Iviii  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

Whether  the  Expenditure  of  the  United  States  can  be  compared  with 

that  of  Prance 280 

Corruption  and  the  Vices  of  the  Rulers  in  a  Democracy,  and  conse- 

qu&nt  Effects  upon  Public  Morality 286 

Effort :,  of  which  a  Democracy  is  capable 280 

Self-Control  of  the  American  Democracy 293 

Conduct  of  Foreign  AlTairs  by  the  American  Democracy       .        .  296 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

What  are  the  real  Advantages  which  American  Society  de- 
rives FROM  A  Democratic  Government 302 

General  Tendency  of  the  Laws  under  the  American  Democracy,  and 

Instincts  of  those  who  apply  them 302 

Public  Spirit  in  the  United  States 308 

Notion  of  Rights  in  the  United  States an 

Reapect  for  the  Law  in  the  United  States 315 

Activity  which  pervades  all  Parts  of  the  Body  Politic  in  the  United 

States ;  Influence  which  it  exercises  upon  Society    .        .        .  317 

CHAPTER    XV. 

Unlimited  Power  of  the  Majority  in  the  United  States,  and 

ITS  Consequences 324 

How  the  Omnipotence  of  the  Majority  increases,  in  America,  the 
Instability  of  Legislation  and  Administration  inherent  in  De- 
mocracy ............        327 

>».Tyranny  of  the  Majority 33Q 

Effects  of  the  Omnipotence  of  the  Majority  upon  the  Arbitrary  Au- 
thority of  American  Public  Officers 335 

-—Power  exercised  by  the  Majority  in  America  upon  Opinion       .        ,    336 

Effects  of  the  Tyranny  of  the  Majority  upon  the  National  Character 

A  the  Americans.— The  Courtier-spirit  in  the  United  States  .        340 

The  greatest  Dangers  of  the  American  Republics  proceed  from  the 
Omnipotence  of  the  Majority 343 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Causes  which  mitigate  the  Tyranny  of  the  Majority  in  the 
\         United  States 346 

■^  Absence  of  Centralized  Admiuistration 346 

The  Profession  of  the  Law  in  the  United  States  serves  to  counter- 
poise the  Democracy 348 

Trial  by  Jury  in  the  United  States  considered  as  a  Political  Insti- 
tution  358 


/ 


:H:ii; 


CONTENTS. 


Uz 


CHAPTER    XVII 

Influence  of  the  Laws  unon  th«  M^i^t  '        "        "        •        • 

pubUc  in  the  UnitedTates  ''''^^^^""-^  «^  t^«  ^^--cratic  Re- 

Influence  of  Manners  uDoithp  Mai  r.+„  '        '        '        *        • 

public  in  the  Uniterst  .Ls  '"^"^*'_'^**°^«  «*'  ^^^  democratic  Re- 

Religioncon8ideredasaPolitir.nl  Tnc+if  *•   '      ,' 

the  Americans  democratic  Repubhc  amongst 


PAGE 


36!) 


382 
383 


383 

387 
394 

403 


409 


5" 


414 

418 


CHAPTER    XVIII, 
The  Present  and  probable  Future  Pnvi.T™„^ 

IT.. "-.  -™  ^-^^''^^rV'^Tl'Z 

Situation  of  the  Blaek  Poputoiion  , n  tt«  UnlL  «,.  ;       '       ' 

Of  the  Republican  Institutions  of  the  United  «^tet.     '    .\     '        ' 
Chances  of  Duration  are       .  ^'*®'*  ^***®«' »"<»  what  their 

Some  Considerations  on  the  Causes  «f  t>,Jn     ''.'•* 
the  United  States      .  **"'  Commercial  Prosperity  of 


424 


431 


456 


491 


535 


Conclusion 


543  ^ 


552 


4Z.* 

^^. 


IH 


li^:  :    ! 


i: 


I 


BEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA 


;  ■  I; 


'•:! 


on 


AU 


AM 

jOL  t] 

struck 

dition  8 

gious  i] 

whole  ( 

,  public  c 

new  mi 

habits  t 

I  soor 

far  beyo] 

try,  and 

over  the 

new  sent 

ever  it  ( 

study  of 

equality 

all  other; 

which  all 

I  then 

thought 

the  spectj 

observed 

there  rea( 

attained  i 


AUTHOR'S   INTRODUCTION 


^MONGST  the  novel  objeCa  that  attracted  my  atten- 
Xi  fon  during  my  stay  in  the  United  States,  nothing 
struck  me  more  forcibly  than  the  general  equalit;  o^cr 
d;f  on  among  the  people.     I  readily  discovered  the  prol 
g.ous  mfluence  which  this  primary  ftct  exercises  on  the 
whoe  course  of  ^ociely,  it  gi.es  a  peculiar  direction  to 
.  pubhc  opmron,  and  a  peculiar  tenor  to  the  laws ;  it  imparl 
new  maxirjrs   to  the  governing  authorities,  a.^d  p^E 
habits  to  the  governed,  peculiar 

I  soon  perceived  that  the  influence  of  this  fact  extends 
try,  and  that  it  has  no  less  empire  over  civil  society  than 

evrUdoe  "  n't  "t  "''™>  ^-^toms,  and  modiHes  what- 
Tdv  If  r  •  ^  ""■  ^"  """^  I  ^'i^n-'ed  in  the 
study  of  American  society,  the  more  I  perceived  that  M, 
jal^  of  condition  is  the  fundamen,^  fecXm  whth 
all  others  see.^  to  be  derived,  and  the  central  pobt  .t 
which  aU  my  observations  constantly  terminated     "^ 

tnought  that  I  discerned  there  something  analoffous  to 

h    spectade  which  the  New  World  presefted  to  me      I 

observed   that  equality  of  condition,  though   it  C'not 

•ttamed  m  the  Umted  States,  is  constantly  approaching 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


i.   ! 


I 


jl      t 


M 


i.i:i 


it :  and  that  the  democracy  which  governs  the  American 
communities  appears  to  be  rapidly  rising  into  power  in 
Europe. 

Hence  I  conceived  the  idea  of  the  book  which  is  now 
before  the  readfc. 

It  is  evident  to  all  ahke  tiiat  a  great  democratic  revolu- 
tion is  going  on  amongst  us ;  but  all  do  not  look  at  it  in 
the  same  light.  To  some  it  appears  to  be  novel  but  acci- 
dental, and,  as  such,  they  hope  it  may  still  be  checked ;  to 
others  it  seems  irresistible,  because  it  is  the  most  miiform, 
the  most  ancient,  and  the  most  permanent  tendency  which 
is  to  be  foimd  in  history. 

I  look  back  for  a  moment  on  the  situation  of  France 
seven  hundred  years  ago,  when  the  territory  was  divided 
amongst  a  small  number  of  families,  who  were  the  owners 
of  the  soil  and  the  rulers  of  the  inhabitants ;  the  right  of 
governing  descended  with  the  family  inheritance  from  gen- 
eration to  generation ;  force  was  the  only  means  by  which 
man  could  act  on  man ;  and  landed  property  was  the  sole 
source  of  power. 

Soon,  however,  the  poUtical  power  of  the  clergy  was 
founded,  and  began  to  increase:  the  clergy  opened  their 
ranks  to  all  classes,  to  the  poor  and  the  rich,  the  vassal  and 
the  lord ;  through  the  Church,  equaUty  penetrated  into  the 
Government,  and  he  who  as  a  serf  must  have  vegetated  in 
perpetual  bondage  took  his  place  as  a  priest  in  the  midst 
of  nobles,  and  not  unfrequently  above  the  heads  of  kings. 

The  different  relations  of  men  with  each  other  became 
more  complicated  and  numerous  as  society  gradually  be- 
came more  stable  and  civilized.  Hence  the  want  of  civil 
laws  was  felt ;  and  the  ministers  of  law  soon  rose  from  the 
obscurity  of  the  tribunals  and  their  dusty  chambers,  to 
appear  at  the  court  of  the  monarch,  by  the  side  cf  the 
feudal  barons  clothed  in  their  ermine  and  their  mail. 

Whilst  the  kings  were  ruining  themselves  by  their  great 


i!li(;; 


author's  introduction.  o 

enteT,me»,  and  the  nobles  e=chausting  their  resources  bv 

by  commerce.  The  mfluence  of  money  began  to  be  oer- 
eepfrfe  m  state  affairs.  The  tran^rfofs  of  business 
opened  a  new  road  to  power,  and  the  financier  rose  to  a 

::rand  £s.  '-""^"^^  ^"  -"^^  '^  -  - »-  «- 

.    «;»f  "f  y  *«=  diifeion  of  inteUigence,  and  the  increaa- 

ng  taste  forhterature  and  art,  caused  learning  and  Xt 

to  become  a  meauis  of  government;  mental  iility  W To 

The  value  attached  to  high  birth  declined  just  as  ftst  ag 
new  avenues  to  power  were  discovered.    In  theXIth 
centu^  nobihly  was  beyond  aU  price;  in  the  thir^rth 
.t  ^ght  be  pm^hased.    NobiUty  wa.  first  conferred  vS 

f  I  \T    '?"^'*'  "'^  »''"^  ™'^'"J"'=«i  into  the  govern- 
ment  by  the  aristocracy  itself.  govern- 

nappened  that  the  nobles,  m  order  to  resist  the  authority 
of  the  crown,  or  to  diminish  the  power  of  their  riv2 
^ted  some  pohtical  influence  to  the  common  peo^ 
Or  more  frequently  the  king  permitted  the  lower  Ce™ 
to  have  a  share  m  the  government,  with  the  intention  rf 
depressmg  the  aristocracy.  "iiennon  ot 

In  France,  the  Hngs  have  always  been  the  most  active 
and  the  most  constant  of  levellers.  When  they  w Z  st^on! 
and  ambrtrous,  they  spared  no  pains  to  raise  (hipeopi  "» 
the  level  of  the  nobles;  when  thev  w»~  ♦  ^       . 

feeble,  they  ^owed  the'peopi:  ^risrivlTere^ 
homo  a,s,sted  the  democr^y  by  theU-  talents,  oZrs  bv 


A 


m 

ililli 


'l! 


4  author's  introduction. 

As  soon  as  land  began  to  be  held  on  any  other  than  a 
feudal  tenure,  and  personal  property  m  its  turn  became 
able  to  confer  influence  and  power,  every  discovery  in  the 
arts,  every  improvement  in  commerce  or  manufactures, 
created  so  many  new  elements  of  equality  among  men. 
Henceforward  every  new  invention,  every  nevf  want  which 
it  occasioned,  and  every  new  desire  which  craved  satisfac- 
tion, was  a  step  towards  a  general  leveUing.  The  taste  for 
luxury,  the  love  of  war,  the  empire  of  fashion,  and  the  most 
superficial  as  well  as  the  deepest  passions  of  the  human 
heart,  seemed  '  o  co-operate  to  enrich  the  poor  and  to  im- 
poverish the  rich. 

From  the  time  when  the  exercise  of  the  intellect  became 
a  source  of  strength  and  of  wealth,  we  see  that  every  addi- 
tion to  science,  every  fresh  truth,  and  every  new  idea 
became  a  germ  of  power  placed  within  the  reach  of  the 
people.  Poetry,  eloquence,  and  memory,  the  graces  of 
the  mind,  the  glow  of  imagination,  depth  of  thought,  and 
all  the  gifts  which  Heaven  scatters  at  a  venture,  turned  to 
the  advantage  of  the  democracy;  and  even  when  they 
were  in  the  possession  of  its  adversaries,  they  stUl  served 
its  cause  by  throwing  into  bold  relief  the  natural  great- 
ness of  man.  Its  conquests  spread,  therefore,  with  those 
of  civilization  and  knowledge;  and  literature  became  an 
arsenal  open  to  all,  where  the  poor  and  the  weak  daily 
resorted  for  arms. 

In  running  over  the  pages  of  our  history  for  seven  hun- 
dred years,  we  shall  scarcely  find  a  single  great  event 
which  has  not  promoted  equahty  of  condition. 

The  Crusades  and  the  English  wars  decimated  the  no- 
bles and  divided  their  possessions :  the  municipal  corpora- 
tions introduced  democratic  liberty  into  the  bosom  of  feudal 
monarchy ;  the  invention  of  fire-arms  equahzed  the  vassal 
and  the  noble  on  the  field  of  battle ;  the  art  of  printhig 
opened  the  same  resources  to  the  minds  of  all  classes ;  the 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


po8tK>ffice  brought  knowledge  alike  to   the  door  of  the 

:::-;  t?;^:rr  ;^d"f -f  '— 

wealth  and  powe"  ^''"^  a<lvent.u.e»   to 

If,  beginning  with  the  eleventh  century,  we  examine 

what  has  happened  in  France  ftom  one  half-cen^r  to 
another,  we  sljaJI  not  M  to  perceive,  at  the  end  of Lfc 
of  these  periods,  that  a  twofold  revolution  h»,  71      T 
in  the  state  of  society.     The  noble  l!         ^  P'*'^* 

social  ln<I,]er   .n^   .1.  *^  S"™  "^o™  On  the 

social  ladder,  and  the  commoner  has  gone  up;  the  one  d<v 

scends  as  the  other  rises.     Eveiy  half^ntut^  bril  tht 
nearer  to  each  other,  and  they  will  soon  meet       ^ 
Nor  is  this  peculiar  to  France.     Whithersoever  we  turn 

J.nces  of  national  existence  havt  ev^;vhr  ^ed  I 
the  advantage  of  democracy:  aU  men  We  aide" Ubv 
heir  exertions,  both  those  who  have  intentionally  labled 
n  Its  cause,  and  those  who  have  served  it  miwittinl 
those  who  have  fought  for  it,  and  those  who  h™df^L' 
themselv^  Ua  opponents,  have  all  been  driven  Jonl-'^r^ 
same  track,  have  all  hhnr^A  t„  „  ^mven  aJong  m  the 

and  some  ;nwUUngly^^!,  ta™  b^rbL""'.  '^°"°*'^ 
the  hands  of  God.  ''  ™'™«"*nte  in 

The  gradual  development  of  the  nrincinlo  „f         i-.    • 
therefore,  a  ProvidentL  fact.         hH  te    ^T  .!  ^  "' 
icristics  of  such  a  fact :  it  is  unitlrs"  t  ta      u    "•''"'" 

well  a3  all  men  contribute  to  its  progress. 

Would  It,  then,  be  wise  to  imagine  that  n  en  •  i 
ment,  the  causes  of  wliich  Up  Tf  \    ,  ""^  ""^"^^ 

by  the  effort,  nf  !  ^^  ^^''^'  ^^  ^«  checked 

Dy  tne  efforts  of  one  generation  ?     Can  it  be  believed  that 

the  democracy  which  has  overthrown  .1.  feudd  3^^^^^^^ 


,■'- 

■ 

f 

1 

■ 

i 


i 


ill 


' 


^^^^B' 

M 

f 

m  , 

jjii 

i 

i| 

4 


/a  I 


6 


author's  introduction. 


and  vanquished  kings,  will  retreat  before  tradesmen  and 
capitalists  ?  Will  it  stop  now  that  it  has  grown  so  strong, 
and  its  adversaries  so  weak  ? 

Whither,  then,  are  we  tending  ?  No  one  can  say,  for 
terms  of  comparison  already  fail  us.  The  conditions  of 
mon  are  more  equal  in  Christian  countries  at  the  present 
day  than  they  have  been  at  any  previous  time,  or  in  any 
part  of  the  world ;  so  that  the  magnitude  of  what  already 
has  been  done  prevents  us  from  foreseeing  what  is  yet  to 
be  accomplished. 

The  whole  book  which  is  here  offered  to  the  public  has 
been  written  under  the  impression  of  a  kind  of  religious 
terror  produced  in  the  author's  mind  by  the  view  of  that 
irresistible  revolution  which  has  advanced  for  centuries  in 
spite  of  every  obstacle,  and  which  is  still  advancing  in  the 
midst  of  the  ruins  it  has  caused. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  God  himself  should  speak  in  or- 
der that  we  may  discover  the  unquestionable  signs  of  his 
will.  It  is  enough  to  ascertain  what  is  the  habitual  course 
of  nature  and  the  constant  tendency  of  events.  I  know, 
without  a  special  revelation,  that  the  planets  move  in  the 
orbits  traced  by  the  Creator's  hand. 

If  the  men  of  our  time  should  be  convinced,  by  attentive 
observation  and  sincere  reflection,  that  the  gradual  and 
progressive  development  of  social  equality  is  at  once  the 
past  and  the  future  of  their  history,  this  discovery  alone 
woiild  confer  the  sacred  character  of  a  Divine  decree  upon 
the  change.  To  attempt  to  check  democracy  would  be  in 
that  case  to  resist  the  will  of  God ;  and  the  nations  would 
then  be  constrained  to  make  the  best  of  the  social  lot 
awarded  to  them  by  Providence. 

The  Christian  nations  of  our  day  seem  to  me  to  present 
a  most  alarming  spectacle  ;  the  movement  which  impels 
them  is  already  so  strong  that  it  cannot  be  stopped,  but  it 
is  not  yet  so  rapid  that  it  cannot  be  guided.     Their  fate  i? 


hi    ^  r 


author's  introduction.  7 

still  in  their  own  hands  ;  yet  a  Uttle  while,  and  it  may  be 
so  no  longer.  ^ 

The  first  of  the  duties  which  are  at  this  time  imposed 
upon  those  who  direct  our  affairs,  is  to  educate  the  democ- 
racy; to  renovate,  if  possible,  its  religious  belief;  to  purif. 
Its  morals;  to  regulate  its  movements;  to  substitute  by 
degrees  a  knowledge  of  business  for  its  inexperience,  and 
an  acquamtance  with  its  true  interests  for  its  blind  in- 
stmcts ;  to  adapt  its  government  to  time  and  place,  and 
to  make  it  conform  to  the  occurrences  and  the  men  of  the 
times  A  new  science  of  pohtics  is  needed  for  a  new 
world. 

This,  however  is  what  we  think  of  least;  placed  in  the 
middle  of  a  rapid  stream,  we  obstinately  fix  our  eyes  on 
the  inims  which  may  still  be  descried  upon  the  shore  we 
have  left  whilst  the  current  hurries  us  away,  and  drags  us 
backward  toward  the  gulf. 

In  no  country  in  Europe  has  the  great  social  revolution 
wh^h  I  have  just  described  made  such  rapid  progress  as 
m  France;  but  ,t  has  always  advanced  without  guidance. 
The  heads  of  the  state  have  made  no  preparation  for  it, 
and  ,   has  advmiced  without  their  consent  or  without  thei^ 
knowledge.     The  most  powerful,  the  most  inteUigent,  and 
the  most  moral  classes  of  the  nation  have  never  attempted 
to  take  hold  of  ,t  m  order  to  giiide  it.     The  democracy 
has  consequently  been  abandoned  to  its  wUd  instincts,  and 
It  has  grown  up  like  those  chUdren  who  have  no  parental 
gmdance,  who  receive  their  education  in  the  public  streets, 
and  who  are  acquainted  only  with  the  vices  and  wretched- 
ness of  society.    Its  existence  was  seemingly  unknown 
when   suddenly  it  acquired  supreme  power^'^Eve^ Tj 
hen  submitted  to  its  caprices;  it  was  worshipped  L  the 
Idol  of  strength ;  and  when  afterwards  it  was  enfeebled  by 
lb  own  excesses  the  legislator  conceived  the  rash  project 
ot  destroying  ,t,  mstoad  of  instructing  it  and  correcting  it. 


li: 


> 

■  .  .1  ■     i 

■  \'\ .   ft 

I  ■    ;' 

;\^^l 

1 

8 


author's  introduction. 


Ml   'i 


i. 


1 1,1    I 


ti' 


vices.     No  attempt  was  made  to  fit  it  to  govern,  but  alJ 
were  bent  on  excluding  it  from  the  government. 

The  consequence  has  been,  that  the  democratic  revolution 
has  taken  place  in  the  body  of  society,  without  that  con- 
comitant change  in  the  laws,  ideas,  customs,  and  manners, 
which  was  necessary  to  render  such  a  revolution  beneficial. 
Thus  we  have  a  democracy,  without  anything  to  lessen  its 
vices  and  bring  out  its  natural  advantages ;  and  although 
we  already  perceive  the  evils  it  brmgs,  we  are  ignorant  of 
the  benefits  it  may  confer. 

While  the  power  of  the  crown,  supported  by  the  aris- 
tocracy, peaceably  governed  the  nations  of  Europe,  society, 
in  the  midst  of  its  wretchedness,  had  several  sources  of 
happiness  which  can  now  scarcely  be  conceived  or  appre- 
ciated. The  power  of  a  part  of  his  subjects  was  an  insur- 
mountable barrier  to  the  tyranny  of  the  prince ;  and  the 
monarch,  who  felt  the  almost  divine  character  which  he 
enjoyed  in  the  eyes  of  the  multitude,  derived  a  motive  for 
the  just  use  of  his  power  from  the  respect  which  he  in- 
spired. The  nobles,  high  as  they  were  placed  above  the 
people,  could  not  but  take  that  calm  and  benevolent 
interest  in  their  fate  which  the  shepherd  feels  towards 
his  flock;  and  without  acknowledging  the  poor  as  their 
equals,  they  watched  over  the  destiny  of  those  whose  wel- 
fare Providence  had  intrusted  to  their  care.  The  people, 
never  having  conceived  the  idea  of  a  social  condition  dif- 
ferent from  their  own,  and  never  expecting  to  become 
equal  to  their  leaders,  received  benefits  from  them  without 
discussing  then-  rights.  They  became  attached  to  them 
when  they  were  clement  and  just,  and  submitted  to  their 
exactions  without  resistance  or  servility,  as  to  the  inevitable 
visitations  of  the  Deity,  Custom  and  the  manners  of  the 
time,  moreover,  had  established  certain  limits  to  oppression, 
and  put  a  sort  of  legal  restraint  upon  violence. 

As  the  noble  never  suspected  that  any  one  would  at' 


author's  introduction. 


9 


inferiority  as  a  consequence  „ffhe-m'"r  '"'!  °"" 
nature,  it  is  easy  to  imaeine  thJ  ""■"•"»*  order  of 
of  good-wiU  took  dwZ  """'  '""™'  «ch™ge 

and  oppressive.  ^  consider  to  be  usurped 

ranee.  But  in  the  midst  of  ht^otl^d""'  "'  '^'"^ 
.ude  it  was  not  uncommon  to  Z^^CLZT:  ™"- 
generous  sentiments,  nrofonnH  ,.<.i-  •  "^"^g®*"^  passions, 
mU  virtues.  '^         ^  '^''8'°'''  convictions,  and 

severed  mankind  are  fkllir^'  ^"^"^  ^'^'=''  ""ce 

power  is  shared  byZny^lfcrr^  '^  *"'''^'^' 
and  the  capacities  of  ajTJl  ^         mtelhgence  spreads, 

State  becoCTemLl  ""d'";^  ''"""^  '=""'™'^''  ^he' 
slowly  and  peacea~Xtdttrr°''^"°'='^^^  '^ 
the  manners  of  the  nation  '  "'''■"■«i™=  and 

an'e^a.  wtnd'rLSrf  •■  ^  "™  ^""^  f-' 
f  r  themselves  1  ^Z^^  'X h"^;::"f  ^  -"; 
.^e  government  would  he  res^ect^  t^:^::;;^; 


'il 


}-l 


1 1_  ! 


:^.;* 


10 


author's  TNTRODUrXTON. 


^li    I    ;i:i 


;j 


ti 


not  as  divine ;  and  in  which  the  loyalty  of  the  subject  to 
the  cliief  magistrate  would  not  be  a  passion,  but  a  qiiiet 
and  rational  persuasion.  Every  individual  being  in  the 
j)()ssession  of  rights  which  he  is  sure  to  retain,  a  kind 
of  manly  confidence  and  reciprocal  courtesy  would  arise 
between  all  classes,  alike  removed  from  pride  and  serviHty. 
The  people,  well  acquainted  with  their  own  true  interests, 
would  understand  that,  in  order  to  profit  by  the  advantages 
of  society,  it  is  necessary  to  satisfy  its  requisitions.  The 
vohmtary  association  of  the  citiisens  might  then  take  the 
place  of  the  individual  exertions  of  the  nobles,  and  the 
commiinliy  would  be  alike  protected  from  anarchy  and 
from  oppression. 

I  admit  that,  in  a  democratic  state  thus  constituted, 
society  would  not  be  stationary.  But  the  impulses  of  the 
social  body  might  there  be  regulated  and  made  progressive. 
If  there  were  less  splendor  than  in  the  midst  of  an  aris- 
tocracy, the  contrast  of  misery  would  also  be  less  frequent ; 
the  pleasures  of  enjoyment  might  be  less  excessive,  but 
those  of  comfort  would  be  more  general ;  the  sciences 
might  be  less  perfectly  cultivated,  but  ignorance  would 
be  less  common  ;  the  impetuosity  of  the  feelings  would 
be  repressed,  and  the  habits  of  the  nation  softened ;  there 
would  be  more  vices  and  fewer  great  crimes. 

In  the  absence  of  enthusiasm  and  an  ardent  faith,  great 
sacrifices  may  be  obtained  from  the  members  of  a  common- 
wealth by  an  appeal  to  their  understandings  and  their  ex- 
perience; each  individual  will  feel  the  same  necessity  of 
union  with  his  fellows  to  protect  his  own  weakness ;  and 
as  he  knows  that  he  can  obtain  their  help  only  on  condition 
of  helping  them,  he  will  readily  perceive  that  his  personal 
interest  is  identified  with  the  interests  of  the  whole  commu- 
nity. The  nation,  taken  as  a  whole,  will  be  less  brilliant, 
less  glorious,  and  perhaps  less  strong ;  but  the  majority  of 
the  citizens  will  enjoy  a  greater  degree  of  prosperity,  and 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  n 

the  people  wairomai,,  quiet,  not  because  they  despair  of  . 
change  for  the  better,  but  because  they  are  conscio  J  tLt 
they  are  weh  oif  already.  conscious  that 

If  all  the  consequences  of  this  state  of  things  were  not 
good  or  useful,  society  would  at  least  have  appfopriated  ^ 
such  as  were  usefal  and  good;  and  having'LZatd  ff 
over  renounced  the  social  advantages  of  aristocracv,  L„ 
ln,d  would  enter  mto  possession  of  aU  the  benefit^  Vweh 
democracy  can  afford. 

But  here  it  may  be  asked  what  we  have  adopted  in  the 
I^ace  of  those  institutions,  those  ideas,  and  thl  c^tom 
of  our  forefathers  which  we  have  abandoned. 

The  spell  of  royalty  is  broken,  but  it  has  not  been  sue 

ceded  by  the  majesty  of  the  laws.      The  people   lave 

learned  to  despise  all  authority,  but  they  still  fear  it :  and 

I  perceive  that  we  have  destroyed  those  individual  pow- 
ei.  which  were  able,  single-handed,  to  cope  with  tyranny- 
but,  IS  the  government  that  has  inherited  the  pSTes' 
of  which  families,  coiporations,  and  individuals  have  bfen 
deprived;  to  the  power  of  a  small  number  of  prons- 
which,  rf  ,t  was  sometimes  oppressive,  was  ofteii'conserva- 
.ve-has  succeeded  the  weakness  of  the  whole  comm" 

The  division  of  property  has  lessened  the  distance  which 
separated  the  nch  from  the  poor;  but  it  would  seemThat 
the  nearer  they  draw  to  each  other,  the  greater  h  thet 
".utual  hatred  and  the  more  vehement  thf  en';  ^d^I 
read  with  which  they  resist  each  other's  claims  to  pow 
the  Idea  of  Right  does  not  e.^st  for  either  party,  and  p"^e 
affords  to  both  the  only  argument  for  the  prit,  andThe 
only  guaranty  for  the  fiiture. 

without  their   feith,   and    their   ignorance  without    their 


12 


author's  introduction. 


!     !■   ■  '1? 


I 


i 


V 


virtues  ;  he  has  adopted  the  doctrine  of  self-interest  aa 
the  rule  of  his  actions,  without  understanding  the  science 
which  puts  it  to  use ;  and  his  selfishness  is  no  less  blind 
than  was  formerly  his  devotedness  to  others. 

If  society  is  tranquil,  it  is  not  because  it  is  conscious  of 
its  strength  and  its  well-being,  but  because  it  fears  its 
weakness  and  its  infirmities ;  a  single  effort  may  cost  it  its 
life.  Everybody  feels  the  evil,  but  no  one  has  courage  or 
energy  enough  to  seek  the  cure.  The  desires,  the  repin- 
ings,^  the  sorrows,  and  the  joys  of  the  present  time  lead  to 
no  visible  or  permanent  result,  like  the  passions  of  old  men, 
which  terminate  in  impotence. 

We  have,  then,  abandoned  whatever  advai/ages  the  old 
state  of  things  afforded,  without  receiving  any  compensa- 
tion from  our  present  condition  ;  we  have  destroyed  an 
aristocracy,  and  we  seem  inclined  to  survey  its  ruins  with 
complacency,  and  to  fix  our  abode  in  the  midst  of  them. 

The  phenomena  which  the  intellectual  world  presents 
ai-e  not  less  deplorable.  The  democracy  of  France,  ham- 
pered in  its  course  or  abandoned  to  its  lawless  passions,  has 
overthrown  whatever  crossed  its  path,  and  has  shaken  all 
that  it  has  not  destroyed.  Its  empire  has  not  been  grad- 
ually introduced,  or  peaceably  established,  but  it  has  con- 
stantly advanced  in  the  midst  of  the  disorders  and  the 
agitations  of  a  conflict.  In  the  heat  of  the  struggle,  each 
partisan  is  hurried  beyond  the  natural  limits  of  his  opinions 
by  the  doctrines  and  the  excesses  of  his  opponents,  until  he 
loses  sight  of  the  end  of  his  exertions,  and  holds  a  language 
which  does  not  express  his  real  sentiments  or  secret  in- 
stincts. Hence  arises  the  strange  confusion  which  we  are 
compelled  to  witness. 

I  can  recall  nothing  in  liistory  more  worthy  of  sorrow 
and  pity,  than  the  scenes  which  are  passing  under  our  eyes. 
It  is  as  if  the  natural  bond  which  unites  the  opinions  of 
man  to  his  tastes,  and  his  actions  to  his  principles,  wa* 


lli^l      n. 


author's  introduction.  j3 

now  broken ;    the  s;ympathy  whicl.  has  always  been   oK 
served  between  the   feelinn-s   onr?    fK     -j  .  ^ 

.2:'::  2:'pr; -;:  :rru;.1~ 

future  life,  and  who  readilv  esnon,,.  fl,„  „  2 , 

liberty  as  the  source  of  all  moT^a^^L^'ch:  t  "T" 
which  has  declared  that  all  „e„  are^^Tin  tit"  r^f 

of  events,  rehjon  ^^^l^.rlli:!  ^fj  ^^Z 

— CX^Hh-S^^^^^^^^^ 

to  cui^e  that  cause  of  liberty  nT »  f         i.         ^'  *"^ 
might  hallow  by  its  aihW^  "  "  '"''  "''"''''  *>^'  " 

By  the  side  of  these   religious   mpn    T  A' 
whose  looks  are  turned  to  eS'X    har^hett" 
Tliese  are  the  partisans  of  liberty  not  nnl,,       ?u 
c^  .he  noblest  virtues,  but  n,o^t^;eiaV^\^:  ^ -- 
sohd  advantages;  and  they  sincerely  desire  to  Zn^  t 
authonty,  and  to  impart  its  blessing  to  mankind  ^t  T 
natural  that  they  should  hasten  to  invoke  treasltnce  of 
re hgion,  for  they  must  know  that  liberty  cannntT    !  u 
..bed  without  mot^ity,  „„r  moralit;  ^tZli  h  lu 
thy  have  seen  religion  in  the  .unks  of  their  advLrie 
and  they  inquire  no  farther;    some   of  them  aZl     I 
openly,  and  the  remainder  are  afraid  to  defend 

sw- LT^rthrThnndttnt  r  T"^  - 

ormt^-Ke\-;tf4 ---^^^^ 

are  n       to  be  met':Uh:V£  t^^J^:^ 

21  *"\r''"r'"'  '"'■  "'"'  P"*-  'hat  servility  whfch 
they  have  themselves  never  known.     Other.,  on  the  co^ 


ii 


lie 

id 


I  ill.' 


; 

.:  i  : 

:  1 

1 
i 

I 

r'J] 

f 

i.,'*fi 

K:j. 


14 


author's  introduction. 


!|!l 


J          : 

i\ 

'  M 

1 
1 

]  j;: 

^1    ■ 

i 

^i:l  ■•• 


traiy,  speak  of  liberty  as  if  they  were  able  to  feel  its  sanc- 
tity and  its  majesty,  and  loudly  claim  for  humanity  those 
rights  which  they  have  always  refused  to  acknowledge. 

There  are  virtuous  and  peaceful  individuals  whose  pure 
morahty,  quiet  habits,  opulence,  and  talents  fit  thera  to  be 
the  leaders  of  the  surrounding  population.  Their  love  of 
country  is  sincere,  and  they  are  ready  to  make  the  greatest 
sacrifices  for  its  welfare.  But  civilization  ofl;en  finds  them 
among  its  opponents ;  they  confound'  its  abuses  with  its 
benefits,  and  the  idea  of  evil  is  inseparable  in  their  minds 
fi'om  that  of  novelty.  . 

Near  these  I  find  others,  whose  object  is  to  materialize 
mankind,  to  hit  upon  what  is  expedient  without  heeding 
what  is  just,  to  acquire  knowledge  without  faith,  and  pros- 
perity apart  fi-om  virtue ;  claiming  to  be  the  champions  of 
modern  civilization,  they  place  themselves  arrogantly  at  its 
head,  usurping  a  place  which  is  abandoned  to  them,  and 
of  which  they  are  wholly  unworthy. 

Where  are  we,  then? 

The  religionists  are  the  enemies  of  liberty,  and  the 
fi'iends  of  liberty  attack  religion;  the  high-minded  and 
the  noble  advocate  bondage,  and  the  meanest  and  most 
servile  preach  independence ;  honest  and  enlightened  citi- 
zens are  opposed  to  all  progress,  whilst  men  without  patri- 
otism and  without  principle  put  themselves  forward  as  the 
apostles  of  civilization  and  intelligence. 

Has  such  been  the  fate  of  the  centuries  which  have  pre- 
ceded our  own?  and  has  man  always  inhabited  a  world 
like  the  present,  where  all  things  are  out  of  their  natural 
connections,  where  virtue  is  without  genius,  and  genius 
without  honor;  where  the  love  of  order  is  confounded 
with  a  taste  for  oppression,  and  the  holy  rites  of  freedom 
with  a  contempt  of  law ;  where  the  light  thrown  by  con- 
science on  human  actions  is  dim,  and  where  nothins  seems 
to  be  any  longer  forbidden  or  allowed,  honorable  or  shame- 
ful, false  or  true  ? 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  tg 

which  surround  us.  otd  deT  L  .  1^:  »d  T"" 
eertmn  foture  to  the  communities  otE^T  Ta^  """■' 
rant  of  Ijis  designs,  but  I  shall  not  ce^rrbelieveTn  ZZ 

^rrn^-:;trhr,St-^  ^  -  -- -- 
JiTLVhiri^-X'oft^sth"^^^^ 

fruits  of  the  democrl,  t It;  ZT7  '^  ''"P"""  ""' 
going   without  havm,  hadtrrvorut'  Zr  ""''^^- 

fluencing  the  manners  of  the  country  ^ 

It  appears  to  me  beyond  a  doubt  tliaf  c« 

.at  we^ban  evttnectli./Xrte'ire'S 

ra3«::s,:^„i:::L""rrf'^P- 
;rd:;:d*'ir  eTcrrth"  ^-^  -  *» '"»-  ->■-  ^^  •-^^ 

tbat  I'h'eetminT/t  '"  "''^  "  '^^''■"'"^  ''--'^ 

there  instn'cZ  bv  i  r™" '  ""^  '"'^  ''^  '"^^  '"  B"'^ 
nstraction  by  which  we  may  ourselves  profit.    Who- 


1-' 


111' 


'  i  i 


)       ''■ 


16 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


t    "I 


im 


ever  should  imagine  that  I  have  intended  to  write  a  pan- 
egyric would  be  strangely  mistaken,  and  on  reading  this 
book,  he  will  perceive  that  such  was  not  my  design :  nor 
has  it  been  my  object  to  advocate  any  form  of  government 
in  particular,  for  I  am  of  opinion  that  absolute  excellence 
is  rarely  to  be  found  in  any  system  of  laws.  I  have  not 
even  pretended  to  judge  whether  the  social  revolution, 
which  I  believe  to  be  irresistible,  is  advantageous  or  preju- 
dicial to  mankind.  I  have  Acknowledged  this  revolution 
as  a  fact  already  accomplished,  or  on  the  eve  of  its  accom- 
plishment ;  and  I  have  selected  the  nation,  from  amongst 
those  which  have  undergone  it,  in  which  its  development 
has  been  the  most  peaceful  and  the  most  complete,  in  order 
to  discern  its  natural  consequences,  and  to  find  out,  if  possi- 
ble, the  means  of  rendering  it  profitable  to  mankind.  I  con- 
fess that,  in  America,  I  saw  more  than  America ;  I  sought 
there  the  image  of  democracy  itself,  with  its  inch'nations, 
its  character,  its  prejudices,  and  its  passions,  in  order  to 
learn  what  we  have  to  fear  or  to  hope  from  its  progress. 

In  the  first  part  of  this  work,  I  have  attempted  to  show 
the  direction  given  to  the  laws  by  the  democracy  of  Amer- 
ica, which  is  abandoned  almost  without  restraint  to  its 
instinctive  propensities ;  and  to  exhibit  the  course  it  pre- 
scribes to  the  government  and  the  influence  it  exercises  on 
affairs.  I  have  sought  to  vHscover  the  e\'ils  and  the  advan- 
tages which  it  brings.  I  have  examined  the  precautions 
used  by  the  Americans  lo  direct  it,  as  well  as  those  which 
they  have  not  adopted,  and  I  have  undertaken  to  poin'.  out 
the  causes  which  enable  it  to  govern  society.  I  do  not 
know  wiiether  I  have  succeeded  in  making  known  wliat  I 
saw  in  America,  but  I  am  certain  that  such  has  been  my 
sincere  desire,  and  that  I  have  never,  knowingly,  moulded 
facts  to  ideas,  instead  of  ideas  to  facts. 

Whenever  a  point  could  be  established  by  the  aid  of 
written  documents,  I  have  had  recourse  to  the  original 


i  i^v^^^lSiilUillBSte '  ■■ 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


,;¥■;'■ 


17 


tat,  and  to  the  most  authentic  and  approved  ^orfa  •    I 
have  cited  my  authorities  in  the  note.,  „„  J 
refer  to  them.     Whenever  opTnionr„'„n     T^  '"'  """-^ 
remarks  on  the  manners  of  trclV'tr  eorrr[ 
V  th  ^irerp'il';  •""""  *"  '""^'  ^ntened  mem  i 

frequent.,  have  quotedM'esTHehV^the  \""" 
to  him,  or  which  deserve  to  ,™""'/'^  <'■*«''•  known 
advance;  but  I  have  Zfi  ?,  ''\''''.'»  P™of  of  what  1 
tice.    A  strungl  Zuen'it  ^  "^  """""  *"'  ?""=" 

«r.ide  of  His\ost,riaTttrrM'  X^UIT 

my  statements  Xn  %  ^^  ^''  '"J"^"'  '^^  ^"^^^««  of 

my  statements  than  uud  my  name  to  the  list  of  those  stran 

gers  who  repay  the  generous  hospitality  they  LvT  '         A 
by  subsequent  cha.grin  and  annoyance  ^  '"'^^'^ 

lam  aware  that,  notwithstanding  mv  care  nofl,- 
^Be  easier  than  to  criticise  this  ...,,%i;2  etr  Xo:! 

enonsh  U.  give  „,e  „,„s.  „f  ,heCZZllT""'°'''  T  ™  """^ 
Federal  Govgrnment      Mr  rivl„    ,  "     "        P°"°'"'''"i°e  to  «he 

c-ca  before  »o  ,.„,„e  »  know    1 1    "',  "''°'"  ""  '"'"•■«=  »1  '-P-, 
»  owe  .  del,,  of  gramudc  "^  ^^^^  ^'  ""''  "'  "'™°  "  «  «  Pl«««-« 


18 


author's  introduction. 


'iii 


mu 


B!  II  li'll!i5l.Mii|! 


Those  readers  who  may  examine  it  closely  will  discover, 
I  think,  in  the  whole  work,  a  dominant  thought  which 
binds,  so  to  speak,  its  several  parts  together.  But  the  di- 
versity of  the  subjects  I  have  had  to  treat  is  exceedingly 
great,  and  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  oppose  an  isolated  fact 
to  the  body  of  facts  which  I  cite,  or  an  isolated  idea  to  the 
body  of  ideas  I  put  forth.  I  hope  to  be  read  in  the  spirit 
which  has  guided  my  labors,  and  that  my  book  may  be 
judged  by  the  general  impression  it  leaves,  as  I  have 
formed  my  own  judgment  not  on  any  single  reason,  but 
upon  the  mass  of  evidence. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  author  who  wishes  to 
be  understood  is  obliged  to  push  all  his  ideas  to  their  ut- 
most theoretical  consequences,  and  often  to  the  verge  of 
what  is  false  or  impracticable ;  ^or  if  it  be  necessary  some- 
times to  depart  from  the  rules  of  logic  in  action,  such  is 
not  the  case  in  discourse,  and  a  man  finds  it  almost  as  diffi- 
cult to  be  inconsistent  in  his  language,  as  to  be  consistent 
in  his  conduct. 

I  conclude  by  myself  pointing  out  what  many  readers 
will  consider  the  principal  defect  of  the  work.  This  book 
is  written  to  tavor  no  particular  views,  and  in  composing 
it,  I  have  entertained  no  design  of  serving  or  attacking 
any  party.  I  have  undertaken,  not  to  see  differently  from 
others,  but  to  look  further  than  others,  and  whilst  they  are 
busied  for  the  morrow  only,  I  have  turned  my  thoughts  to 
the  whole  fiiture. 


DEMOCRACY  O  AMERICA. 


p 

^ 

CHAPTER    I. 

EXTERIOR   FORM  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 
North  America  divided  into  two  vm*  R.  • 

Pole,  the  o.her  toward  the  EZtof  ^T'„""'  T"^^  *«--d  th. 
Traces  '•  .„d  there  of  the  ^y^T  .  '^  °^  *^«  Mississippi.-. 
>^t.a«tie  Ocean,  on  wL  h  hT  EnT^  ^  -  ^^^'^'^-S'^-  '?  the 
Different  Aspects  of  North  and  of  ll  ?°""  '^^'^  ^«-^ed.- 
their  Discovery.-ForestB  of  North  f    *  '""'  "*  ^'^^  ^ime  of 

Tribes  of  Natives. -.ThllnC^-^-Prairies.-- Wandering 
guages.  -  Traces  of  an  «nicno!rPe^r""'  '^°""'  '^^  ^-- 

NORTH  AMERICA  present  in   v 
.  certain  general  featurHwch  Tt  iT   ""''""f  ''^ 

mate  at  the  first  glance.  ^^^  *°  ^^^^m- 

A  sort  of  methodical  order  sppm»  .    i, 
separation  of  land  and  water  Z7\      ^^'^'  ''^^''^  *« 
simple  but  grand  a  Jngem  ntTr     "'  '"^  "^^^^^-     ^ 

— n  of  objec.  andThrptdVor^^^^^^^  ^^^ 

This  continent  is  Hjvirf.^  „i       .      ™nety  of  scenes. 

regions,  one  of  .hLttuJ^'  T""'^  ■'"'"  '"»  ™" 
"c  Pole,  and  by  the Tw"  iTt  !  ""  ""*  '^  ""^  ^- 
It  stretches  toLrd  tie  Sm^  T"'  °"  *^  ^"'  '"'J  "-'• 
irregular  sides  nieet  at  S  1"""^"  '™"g'^'  ^•■<'- 
Canada.  The  second  reriof  be  ™  *^  g^«  ''J^es  of 
•nmates,anJ  includes  auT  ^".'  ^'•'"•^  *"  «*^r  tez^ 

The  one  slop.  J'l  Wd  ^Tf  "'  *«  '=°"«"»^- 
'Jie  Equator        *"      ^       '"*  *'  ^°'^'  *«  "Aer  toward 


!      i 


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h 
I 


ill 


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^ 

m.'.-^':,.,rr^->;mm,-?m"m«mmimum 


w 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


i:'ll!lii1:'' 


i     I 


The  territory  comprehended  in  the  first  region  descends 
toward  the  north  with  so  imperceptible  a  slope,  that  it 
may  almost  be  said  to  form  a  plain.  Within  the  bounds 
of  this  immense  level  tract  there  are  neither  high  moun- 
tains nor  deep  valleys.  Streams  meander  through  it  irreg- 
ularly ;  great  rivers  intertwine,  separate,  and  meet  again, 
spread  into  vast  marshes,  losing  all  trace  of  their  channels 
in  the  labyrinth  of  waters  they  have  themselves  created, 
and  thus  at  length,  after  innumerable  windings,  fall  into 
the  Polar  seas.  The  great  lakes  which  bound  this  first 
region  are  not  walled  in,  like  most  of  those  in  the  Old 
World,  between  hills  and  rocks.  Their  banks  are  flat, 
and  rise  but  a  few  feet  above  the  level  of  their  waters,  — 
each  of  them  thus  formmg  a  vast  bowl  filled  to  the  brim. 
The  slightest  change  in  the  structure  of  the  globe  would 
cause  their  waters  to  rush  either  towards  the  Pole  or  to 
the  tropical  seas. 

The  second  region  has  a  more  broken  surface,  and  is  bet- 
ter suited  for  the  habitation  of  man.  Two  long  chains  of 
mountains  divide  it,  firom  one  extreme  to  the  other :  the 
one,  named  the  Alleghany,  follows  the  direction  of  the 
shore  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean ;  the  other  is  parallel  with 
the  Pacific. 

The  space  which  hes  between  these  two  chains  of  moun- 
tains contains  1,341,649  square  miles.*  Its  surface  is 
therefore  about  six  times  as  great  as  that  of  France. 

This  vast  territory,  however,  forms  a  single  valley,  one 
side  of  which  descends  from  the  rounded  summits  of  the 
AUeghanies,  while  the  other  rises  in  an  iminterrupted 
coui-se  to  the  tops  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  At  the  bot- 
tom of  the  valley  flows  an  immense  river,  into  which  the 
various  streams  issuing  from  the  mountains  fall  from  all 
parts.  In  memory  of  their  native  land,  the  French  for- 
merly called  this   river  the  St.  Louis.     The   Indians,  in 

*  Darby's  View  of  the  United  States,  p.  499. 


EXTERIOR  FORM  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


21 

highest  poinf  of  thettLriSeTher '':*"'".'''« 
the  same  spot  rises  another  nvJrZ.  R  ^  I  ^"''^ 

North],  which  empties  itself  II  "^^e  f^      ™''  '"•''"' 

whS":re  ttsC^oitV\.*--  '^'^ 

tehets,  the  MississionfTt  '  """^""^  ^oUen  by 
course.'  At  the  See Tllfir''-,'''.""  ■"«"  "  '^ 
this  river  attains  an  ^e^^'df  of't  T  "^  """"*' 
navigated  by  vessels  of  -inn  7^     v     .  *^^*'  ™<' ''  i' 

nearer  500  milT  Fit ,!      T    "'''"  ''"^  "  ■="""«  »f 

tribut^  to  sw'rthe  t^rerrf'rr?''"^"™^-™- 

others,  the  Missouri,  wS   it    Mississippi;  amongst 

miles,  the  Arkansas    S^V™:  LdT  "'  P"" 
miles,  the  Ohio,  959  miL  •  ^'.^^  ^^  R'™r,  1,000 

to  1,000  miles    n  lengS^  w  ""LliT  ™T  '^  ''"■"  «»» 
the  St.  Francis  and  tl„  n     «  """'  ""^  ^'^  P««>-'s, 

multitude  o?;:,"!  whie?"  ^X"''  ''"'''"  "  "=°™"-» 
utary  .strean^s  ""'"  '^'""  "^  f^'  *«ir  tril> 

t.q".ty,  the  river  di'spenses  bo*  gld  ^d  '.ir  ^Ne     f." 

stream,  natiu-e  disphys  an  inexhaustiWe  ferM  t 

portion  as  you  recede  from  its  bank,  ^^.  ^i  '"  ^""^ 

tion  lanmiish    the  ,oil  1,  '        P*"""^  "^^  ™g''t'>- 

cuisu,  [lie  sou   becomes  noor  nnrl  ♦!-„     1     ■      , 

survive  have  a  sickly  growth  *     Tn   T      I    ^^''  *^^ 

y  growtii.       J>fowhere  have  the  great 


•  This  statement  is  exaggerated,  ox-  give,  a  fa!., 


spitjssioa.     'i"h«  ivrtiie 


'■■     i    i 
■    f    ' 

S 

[fil 


ill 


I 


•;5i 


in!: 


11 

i 

i 


22 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


'I; 


convulsions  of  the  globe  left  more  evident  traces  than  in 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  The  whole  aspect  of  the 
country  shows  the  powerful  effects  of  water,  both  by  its 
fertility  and  its  barrenness.  The  waters  of  the  primeval 
ocean  accumulated  enormous  beds  of  vegetable  mould  in 
the  valley,  which  they  levelled  as  they  retired.  Upon  the 
right  bank  of  the  river  are  found  immense  plains,  as 
smooth  as  if  the  husbandman  had  passed  over  them  with 
his  roller.  As  you  approach  the  mountains,  the  soil  be- 
comes more  and  more  unequal  and  sterile ;  the  groimd  is, 
as  it  were,  pierced  in  a  thousand  places  by  primitive  rocks, 
which  appear  like  the  bones  of  a  skeleton  whose  flesh  has 
been  consumed  by  time.  The  surface  of  the  earth  is  cov- 
ered with  a  granitic  sand,  and  huge,  irregular  masses  of 
stone,  among  which  a  few  plants  force  their  growth,  and 
give  the  appearance  of  a  green  field  covered  with  the  ruins 
of  a  vast  edifice.  These  stones  and  this  sand  discover,  on 
examination,  a  perfect  analogy  with  those  which  compose 
the  arid  and  broken  summits  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  flood  of  waters  which  washed  the  soil  to  the  bottom 
of  the  valley,  afterwards  carried  away  portions  of  the 
rocks  themselves ;  and  these,  dashed  and  bruised  against 
the  neighboring  cliffs,  were  left  scattered  like  wrecks  at 
their  feet.* 

The  valley  of  the  Mississippi  is,  upon  the  whole,  the 
most  magnificent  dv/elling-place  prepared  by  God  for 
man's  abode ;  and  yet  it  may  be  said  that  at  present  it  is 
but  a  mighty  desert.f 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  AUeghanies,  between  the 
base  of  these  mountains  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  there  lies 


1- 

I- 


land  "  near  the  stream  "  is  often  over  five  hundred  miles  broad,  and  only  on 
the  western  side,  and  at  a  greater  distance  than  this,  is  found  a  great  sterile 
tract  to  which  this  description  ia  applicable.  —  Am.  Ed. 

*  See  Appendix  A. 

t  The  population  of  the  valley  is  now  nearly  thrice  as  great  as  it  wai 
when  this  was  written.  —  Am.  Ed. 


EXTERIOR  FORM  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.        28 

territo^  does  not  exc^eTl  I^ard^^r'tf -f:' 
about  nine  hundred  miles  in  length  Tw'''V' 

iojk.  husbandman,  and  its  vegetation  is  scan.^a:^  ™! 

Upon  this  inhospitable  coast  the  first  united  efforts  „f 
human  mdustry  were  made.     This  tongue  ofarid^and 
was  the  cradle  of  those  English  colonies^hich  wel  d" 
toed  one  day  to  become  the  United  States  oflmeriea 
The  centre  of  power  still  remains  here;  whilst  L,^ 
of  It  the  true  elements  of  th^         T        ,  "^  '^^^ 

foture  control  ofThe  In  intt  M     """''  '"  """""  ""^ 
most  in  secrecy  together  "^  ""  ^*^™g  ^- 

When  the  Europeans  first  landed  on  the  shores  of  the 
West  Ind,^,  and  afterwards  on  the  coast  of  SouA  Imir 
.ca,  they  thought  themselves  transported  into  tW  TT 
lous  regions  of  which  poets  had  sun^    tL  '  t^.' 

with  phosphoric  hVht  and  thr.r  ^'j-         '^  'P'"'''''"* 

<•  •»        .        ,:    "    '  ""^  cxtraordmarv  transnaremv 

of  Its  waters  discovered  to  the  vVw  „f  .1.  .^^^""y 

.be  depths  of  the  abyss.-    ntld  theXSIt:,! 

Set  'o^tow     I*  •'"°"'^™"^  P'™'^'  ^d'libS 
baskets  of  flowers  floatmg  on  the  tranquil  suifece  of  the 

ocean      Every  object  which  met  the  sight,  Tthis  en 

*  Malte  Brun  tells  us  (Vol.  HI  n  7or\  *u„,  ,u 
Sea  is  so  transparent  that  coralsl  J"/f  ^     ?      '  ""^''^  ^^  '^'  ^""''bean 
fathoms.     The  sT  p  seemer^^^^^  "'  f  ""^"^^'^  ^*  ^  ^«P*^  «f  -^7 

^i«^e  penetrate.  tL:;ri:^:::;;:^^^^^^^ 

or^ds  of  shells,  or  .H.ea  «shes  ,H.n,  :  J/^  a^ri^rr 


i; 


il,  h 


K- 


'M 


24 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


II  .h' 


lit; 


wild  figs,  flowering  myrtles,  acacias,  and  oleanders,  which 
were  hung  with  festoons  of  various  climbing-plants,  covered 
with  flowers,  a  multitude  of  birds  unknown  in  Europe 
displayed  their  bright  plumage,  glittering  Avith  purple  and 
azure,  and  mingled  their  warbling  with  the  harmony  of  a 
world  teeming  with  life  and  motion.* 

Underneath  this  brilliant  exterior,  death  was  concealed. 
But  this  fact  was  not  then  known,  and  the  air  of  these, 
climates  had  so  enervating  an  influence,  that  man,  ab- 
sorbed by  present  enjoyment,  was  rendered  regardless  of 
the  future. 

North  America  appeared  under  a  very  different  aspect : 
there,  everything  was  grave,  serious,  and  solemn  ;  it  seemed 
created  to  be  the  domain  of  intelligence,  as  the  South  was 
that  of  sensual  delight.  A  turbulent  and  foggy  ocean 
washed  its  shores.  It  was  girt  round  by  a  belt  of  granitic 
rocks,  or  by  wide  tracts  of  sand.  The  foliage  of  its  woods 
was  dark  and  gloomy;  for  they  were  composed  of  firs, 
larches,  evergreen  oaks,  wild  olive-trees,  and  laurels.f 

Beyond  this  outer  belt  lay  the  thick  shades  of  the  central 
forests,  where  the  largest  trees  which  are  produced  in  the 
two  hemispheres  grow  side  by  side.  The  plane,  the  catalpa, 
the  sugar-maple,  and  the  Virginian  poplar  mingled  their 
branches  with  those  of  the  oak,  the  beech,  and  the  hme. 

In  these,  as  in  the  forests  of  the  Old  World,  destruction 
was  perpetually  gomg  on.  The  ruins  of  vegetation  were 
heaped  upon  each  other ;  but  there  was  no  laboring  hand 
to  remove  them,  and  their  decay  was  not  rapid  enough 
to  make  room  for  the  continual  work  of  reproduction. 
Climbing  plants,  grasses,  and  other  herbs  forced  their  way 
through  the  mass  of  dying  trees ;  they  crept  along  their 
bending  trunks,  found  nourishment  in  their  dusty  cavities, 

*  See  Appendix  B. 

t  These  are  not  good  specimens  of  the  trees  on  our  Atlantic  coa«t.  Firs, 
pines,  cypresses,  white  and  live  oaks,  would  have  been  a  better  enomeratiou. 
—  Am.  Ed 


;ir!. 


% 


»w#at^i»tte  i-tmntmHmmiri£?-:: 


EXTERIOR   FORM   OP  NORTH  AMERICA. 


26 

ana  a  passage  beneath  the  lifeless  hart      Ti        i 

its  assistance  to  hfe  and  tluMV  .  "'  "^^"^^  ^^^^ 

course  by  human  industry,  preserved  i„  7  ""■ 

moisture.  It  was  rare  to  me^ttw,  1;"  t^^':!,,'  ^";'«"' 
bn-ds,  beneath  their  shades.     The  fall  ,7!^'  ^    '  "' 

h  age,  the  rushin.  torrent  of  a  it  ,  ..  T  overthrown 
Buffalo,  and  the  howIinTof  th.  7  '  *"  '™'"S  »''  ""« 
which  broke  the  Zt'o^'nlej:''''''  ""^  "^  ""'^  '""""^ 

extent.    WTiether  Nature  iJt       T-  '^       "'  °^  immense 

the  germs  of  tr  L  to  ^ "  ^^^T'  ™™'^  '""■  '''''''"'' 
had  onee  been  covered  wS.%  '^  T''  "''  ''^""^"''  "'«/ 

by  the  hand  of  min Is    '    '^   '  ^T™"^  '^'^'™^'''' 
nor  scienUfic  researc"h  L\r  te  TotL-I^  ''^■""" 

ages  scattered  among  r  frfZlfn,'""  ''"''^"  '°' 

tm^softhep^rie.     From  th    LS^f^e  St  T""  ""■ 
to  the  Delta  of  tlio  Tu-    •    •     •     """^  ^^  ^^^  fet.  Lawrence 

the  Pacific  Oclthet""'''P''  '"'•  «•"■"  "-  Atlantic  to 

resemblance  S.^rt-rs^'r::"'  ^''^'^'"  P°'"'«  "^ 
hut  at  the  same  titne  Ly  Sed  l'^  TT"  f^"- 
™es  of  men ;  •  they  were  U.  ^elhrto^r 

.rita  i.  „„,  very  di,tt„,  fa,„  aij„.„„,,  .    '^«  I»"<1  occapied  by  ,1,0.0 

"tioa,  ,l,a, .,  a  „mo,e  poriod  thov  ""vo  r„   TV  """^  °'  "'«  ™PP°- 

of  Amorioa.    B„.  ,hi.  I  a  pota.  wUoI  b  "  *"  ""  *«  '""i"™' 

;•  Coajec«>,o  .„  rorigta,  d^i'^Jri^^  Il'f  I°*  "^  Hmabold. ;  Richer, 
ioui  ludiuis."  .-"nencaia.    ,  Adair,  ..  Htatory  of  the  Axtm- 


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26 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


nor  yellow  like  most  of  the  Asiatics,  nor  black  like  the 
negroes.  Their  skin  was  reddish  brown,  their  hair  long 
and  shining,  their  lips  thin,  and  their  cheekbones  very 
prominent.  The  languages  spoken  by  the  North  Ameri- 
can tribes  were  various  as  far  as  regarded  their  words,  but 
they  were  subject  to  the  same  grammatical  rules.  These 
rules  differed  in  several  points  from  such  as  had  been 
observed  to  govern  the  origin  of  language.  The  idiom 
of  the  Americans  seemed  to  be  the  product  of  new  com- 
binations ;  and  bespoke  an  effort  of  the  understanding,  of 
which  the  Indians  of  our  days  would  be  incapable.* 

The  social  state  of  these  tribes  differed  also  in  many 
respects  from  all  that  was  seen  in  the  Old  World.  They 
seem  to  have  multipUed  freely  in  the  midst  of  their  deserts, 
without  coming  in  contact  with  other  races  more  civilized 
than  their  own.  Accordingly,  they  exhibited  none  of  those 
indistinct,  incoherent  notions  of  right  and  wrong,  none  of 
that  deep  corruption  of  manners,  which  is  usually  joined 
Avith  ignorance  and  rudeness  among  nations  who,  after 
advancing  to  civilization,  have  relapsed  into  a  state  of 
barbarism.  The  Indian  was  indebted  to  no  one  but  him- 
self;  his  virtues,  his  vices,  and  his  prejudices  were  his  own 
work ;  he  had  grown  up  in  the  wild  independence  of  his 

nature. 

If,  in  polished  countries,  the  lowest  of  the  people  are 
rude'  and  uncivil,  it  is  not  merely  because  they  are  poor 
and  ignorant,  but  that,  being  so,  they  are  in  daily  contact 
with  rich  and  enlightened  men.  The  sight  of  their  own 
hard  lot  and  their  weakness,  which  is  daily  contrasted  with 
the  happiness  and  power  of  some  of  their  fellow-creatures, 
excites  in  then-  hearts  at  the  same  time  the  sentiments  of 
anger  and  of  fear:  the  consciousness  of  their  inferiority  and 
their  dependence  irritates  while  it  humiliates  them.  This 
state  of  mind  displays  itself  in  their  manners  and  language; 

•  See  Appendix  C. 


EXIEEIOE  FORM  OF  NOBTH  AMEMOA.  27 

thej  are  at  once  insolent  and  servile.     The  truth  of  A:    • 
ea..ly  proved  by  observation :  the  people  ^^I't  ■" 

powe^,  r:i.b.ti  t^thShets:  *i  tr 

gent  feel  themselves  oppressed  hv  fhf'^  -  '"'^'" 

unable ,„  ,., , s^:^ ^^-^::^^ 
;iCL-.;i?o?htrrre*^  *^^---  '^  - 

areigno.ntandpo'Zritua.t/L^e"''  "'*°'^''  *«^ 

.£rifrre:e^rt^^^^ 

mdifFerent  to  the  enjoyments  which  rivil.V^^  ' 

serve  anr?  a  Vir^rJ  «f     •  .         .      pracusea  an  habitual  re- 
7/mj       f  r      of  anstocratic  pohteness. 

*  We  leam  from  President  Jefferson's  "Notes  unon  V,v„-  •   „ 
that  among  the  Iroquois,  when  attacked  bv!        T"/'"^^'"'*'    (P-  ^48,) 
fi«ed  to  fly.  or  to  survive  th«  1  .     ^        ^       "P'"*""  ^°'*'''  '^'^  "^^n  re- 
death  like'he  lierR^mltr   r      '""  ""'^^^'  ^^  ^'^^^  "raved 
Further  on.  (p"  0    hfteT^^^^^^  ""  ^^^'^^^  "^  *he  Gauls, 

havmg  fal  en  into    he  hal  j  p  "  "'  '''™'''  '^^  ^°  '"'^'^°'  -^«' 

contra^,  the  captLtugrt^l^;;;:::;  tT  r  r:  ''-■' «°  ^^^ 

by  the  use  of  insult  and  provocation  ''  '^  ^'  ^°"'i'^««>'- 


t  t  : 


S  ;.  'I 


f'VU 


d 


^n 


I, ,,  I 


28 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


If'' 


duced  no  great  impression  when  they  landed  upon  the 
shores  of  North  America ;  their  presence  engendered  nei- 
ther envy  nor  fear.  What  influence  could  they  possess 
over  such  men  as  we  have  described  ?  The  Indian  could 
live  without  wants,  suffer  without  complaint,  and  pour  out 
his  death-song  at  the  stake.*  Like  all  the  other  members 
of  the  great  human  family,  these  savages  believed  in  the 
existence  of  a  better  world,  and  adored,  under  different 
names,  God,  the  Creator  of  the  universe.  Their  notions 
'  on  the  great  intellectual  truths  were  in  general  simple  and 

philosophical,  f 

Although  we  have  here  traced  the  character  of  a  prim- 
itive people,  yet  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  another  people, 
more  civilized  and  more  advanced  in  all  respects,  had  pre- 
ceded it  in  the  same  regions. 

An  obscure  tradition  which  prevailed  among  the  Indians 
on  the  borders  of  the  Atlantic,  informs  us  that  these  very 
tribes  formerly  dwelt  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi. 
Along  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  and  throughout  the  central 
valley,  there  are  frequently  found,  at  this  day,  tumuli  raised 
by  the  hands  of  men.  On  exploring  these  heaps  of  earth 
to  their  centre,  it  is  usual  to  meet  with  human  bones, 
strange  instruments,  arms  and  utensils  of  all  kinds,  made 
of  metal,  and  destined  for  purposes  unknown  to  the  pres- 
ent race. 

The  Indians  of  our  time  are  unable  to  give  any  infor- 
mation relative  to  the  history  of  this  unknown  people. 
Neither  did  those  who  lived  three  hundred  years  ago,  when 
America  was   first   discovered,  leave  any  accounts  from 

*  See  "Histoire  de  la  Louisiane,"  by  Lepage  Dupratz;  Charlevoix, 
«« Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France  " ;  "  Lettres  du  Rev.  G.  Heckeweldor  " 
"  Transactions  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,"  Vol.  I. ;  Jefferson's 
"Notes  on  Virginia,"  pp.  135-190.  What  is  said  by  Jefferson  is  of  e* 
pecial  weight,  on  account  of  the  personal  merit  of  the  writer,  of  his  peculiar 
position,  and  of  the  matter-of-fact  age  in  which  he  lived. 

t  See  Appendix  D. 


EXTEMOB  FOBM  OF  NOSTH  AME8I0A.        ^9 

WO..M  throw/no  I^^,— t  tt  f'"^ 
doubted  feet,  however,  that  in  this  prrt  rf  ,1,  i  /  ,  ™" 
«a„ds  of  our  fellow-beings  once  Led  W^  ^."^  ""'"■ 
hither,  what  was  their  oririn  t  J'  7'  ^^^  ^^^  '^^ 
when  and  how  they  plr^hX; foTe  ertl];'  *"'  ■''^""^• 

Jis^Xsrdi'strr;^^™,---^- 

that  the  memoir  even  of  thJ  "^"^PP?^^^  ^0"^  the  earth 
^uiuiy  even  ot  their  names  is  eifare^A  1  +i,^'    i 

guages  are  lost;  their  glory  is  vanisLrifv  7  ^'"" 

out  an  echo;  though  perhaps  tW  ""  '"""^  ^'*^- 

to  have  formed  one  ^reTt  dirt  r  17.  ^  ^""'''""^• 
without  possessing  it.  It  iswf  '  -'  ^"*'»' """"Pied, 
appropriates  the  !oU  a^d  th  J  JT  T;'. '''""' *""»» 
America  Hved  b,  th'e  ^     ^l  '^'"^J  .^"f 

cable  prejudices,  their  uncontrolled  ptsL  ^h       "''*" 
and  still  more,  uerbam    ,!,„■  Piissions,  their  vices, 

them  to  inevit^birtrt ::  '^^^^7]:''"'^ 
began  from   the   dav   wl,n     17  ^  *^^^®  *"bes 

shfres:  it  has  proctdel t r  sr^^r,  '^"''^''  ^   *- 
nessing  the  completion  of  it   ";™';"<' "«  »-  "»- wit- 

to  wait  tafo^e"  :LI  Th"„'  *'^  ""^  *^"  "^-'^ 
adapted  for  commeLTdinls'.r'^'  1°  "'^'^'-'^ 
rivers;  that  inexhaustible  vZ^f  t^M  ?  ™'  "7 
whole  continent,  in  short,  seeme[p:ep*:,twr'bL'' 
of  a  great  nation  yet  unborn.  ^  "'^^ 


•I 
I  ■  5 


3   i  J'j 


i 


!M 


lli 


m   '^ 


» -^>^!fl:r>^U!■:!mWf^9, 


80 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


In  that  land  the  great  experiment  was  to  he  made,  hy 
civilized  man,  of  the  attempt  to  construct  society  upon  a 
new  basis ;  and  it  was  there,  for  the  first  time,  that  theo- 
ries hitherto  unknown,  or  deemed  impracticable,  were  to 
exhibit  a  spectacle  for  which  the  world  had  not  been  pre- 
pared by  the  history  of  the  past. 


OBIGIN   OP  THE  ANGLO-AMERICANS. 


31 


CHAPTER    II. 

Utility  of  knowing  the  Oriein  of  Vo*; 

wl.«  they  Mtod.  _  iu„ft "  ^  ^"'»''  ^«ri«'  were  .tauh^.  _  i„ 

-Their  Socid  Cor^r^.-Z.r^Ti^^"-'"^"^!'^- 
I*gistati«a._KeligioMP„or -BTt,-^™'™*  *""»  *•  Heb,», 

"' "« sp-*  or  Sergio,  r  ^rs^roJ^^-;^-'"^  ^^-o- 

A™ll,^^J,«  H^»  -^e^g.  his  e„„  ,ea„ 
hood.    As  he  grows  JZ       ^     °''  ^'^"^  "^  child- 

jo-  He  r  then  s^t  S  °  fiir;.' "''*  ■"'^  ^'"- 
•magmed  that  the  genn  of  thTv,-  T.^*^  *"<<  "  « 
maturer  yea«  is  thenTormed  '"''  *'  "^^  "^  W» 

»»» ;  we  muTt  see  ZsZL  "^*  "  '^  '»°*«r's 
world  ea.^  „p„„  ^.e  da4  r^r^  V"?\  *«  «'»™al 
cun-ences  which  he  witnZT^^  ^°'''  "■*  «"'  <"=- 

'vords  which  awaken  fte  "Telni  ""^'  ^"^  *«  fi«-' 

stand  by  his  earhest  effort    7  '""'"T  "''  ^""ght,  and 
prejudices,  the  habits  and  t.Z"        •         ''  ™''««ta''<I  the 

•  *"''  **  P^s'ons  which  will  rule  hi, 


r  i 


t|| 

m 


[jii 


1! 


'^:i 


32 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


life.     The  entire  man  is,  so  to  speak,  to  be  seen  in  the  cra- 
dle of  the  child. 

The  growth  of  nations  presents  something  analogous  to 
this ;  they  all  bear  some  marks  of  their  origin.  The  cir- 
cumstances which  accompanied  their  birth  and  contributed 
to  their  development  affect  the  whole  term  of  their  being. 

If  we  were  able  to  go  back  to  the  elements  of  states,  and 
to  examine  the  oldest  monuments  of  their  history,  I  doubt 
not  that  we  should  discover  in  them  the  primal  cause  of 
the  prejudices,  the  habits,  the  ruling  passions,  and,  in  short, 
of  all  that  constitutes  what  is  called  the  national  character. 
We  should  there  find  the  explanation  of  certain  customs 
which  now  seem  at  variance  with  the  prevailing  manners  ; 
of  such  laws  as  conflict  with  established  principles  ;  and  of 
Kuch  incoherent  opinions  as  are  here  and  there  to  be  met 
with  in  society,  like   those  fragments   of  broken   chains 
which  we  sometimes  see  hanging  from  the  vaults  of  an  old 
edifice,  and  supporting  nothing.     This  might  explain  the 
destinies  of  certain  nations  which  seem  borne  on  by  an  un- 
known force  to  ends  of  which  they  themselves  are  igno- 
rant.    But  hitherto  facts  have  been  wanting  to  researches 
of  this  kind :  the  spirit  of  inquiry  has  only  come  upon 
communities  in  their  latter  days  ;  and  when  they  at  length 
contemplated  their  origin,  time  had  already  obscured  it, 
or  ignorance  and  pride  adorned  it  with  trath-concealing 

fables. 

America  is  the  only  country  in  which  it  has  been  possi- 
ble to  witness  the  natural  and  tranquil  growth  of  society, 
and  where  the  influence  exercised  on  the  future  condition 
of  states  by  their  origin  is  clearly  distinguishable. 

At  the  period  when  the  peoples  of  Europe  landed  in  the 
New  World,  then*  national  characteristics  were  already 
completely  formed ;  each  of  them  had  a  physiognomy  of 
its  own ;  and  as  they  had  abeady  attained  that  stage  of 
civili7Ation  at  which  men  are  led  to  study  themselves,  they 


ORIGIN  OP  THE  ANGLO-AMERICANS, 


83 
centum  are  almost  IZn  ZjtT"  "^  '^^  ^"''»* 

accurately  mr^tT^ti,''Lt   T'  '""'"  ''' '°  "^ 

possess  anf  W    ^      .  ^  "^^'"^  ^""  forefathers  did  not 
If  we  carefully  examine  the  social  r    '  poUtical  state  of 

this  book  will  find  in  fl,.  explain.     The  readers  of 

that  is  to  fiC  and  the\rrT  '"'^'r  *^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^^ 
rouow,  and  the  key  to  almost  the  whole  work 

same  a„,  they  .o.emedSre;  T^Z:;^£ 
tie  of  knZ      •    '^^      '°  ™  analogous  situation.     The 


I 


i' 


:ii 


ii  I 


It, 

1  ( 


:^:i 


■■'?m!-}^'.  jfiwni!':m'mm'f'-WIWf^nfWglllllfim 


34 


DEMOCRACY   IN   ..MERICA. 


been  perfected  in  this  rude  school ;  and  they  were  more 
conversant  with  the  notions  of  right,  and  the  principles  of 
true  freedom,  than  the  greater  part  of  their  European  con- 
temporaries. At  the  period  of  the  first  emigrations,  the 
township  system,  that  fruitful  germ  of  free  institutions,  was 
deeply  rooted  in  the  habits  of  the  English ;  and  with  it 
the  doctrine  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  had  been  in- 
troduced into  the  bosom  of  the  monarchy  of  the  bouse 
of  Tudor. 

The  religious  quarrels  which  have  agitated  the  Christian 
world  were  then  rife.  England  had  plunged  into  the  new 
order  of  things  with  headlong  vehemence.  The  character 
of  its  inhabitants,  which  had  always  been  sedate  and  reflec- 
tive, became  argumentative  and  austere.  General  informa- 
tion had  been  increased  by  intellectual  contests,  and  the 
mind  had  received  in  them  a  deeper  cultivation.  Whilst 
religion  was  the  topic  of  discussion,  the  morals  of  the  people 
became  more  pure.  All  these  national  features  are  more 
or  less  discoverable  in  the  physiognomy  of  those  Enghsh- 
men  who  came  to  seek  a  new  home  on  the  opposite  shores 
of  the  Atlantic. 

Another  remark,  to  which  we  shall  hereafter  have  occa- 
sion to  recur,  is  apphcable  not  only  to  the  English,  but  to 
the  French,  the  Spaniards,  and  all  the  Europeans  who 
successively  established  themselves  in  the  New  World.  All 
these  European  colonies  contained  the  elements,  if  not  the 
„  development,  of  a  complete  democracy.  Two  causes  led  to 
this  result.  It  may  be  said  generally,  that  on  leaving  the 
mother  coimtry  the  emigrants  had,  in  general,  no  notion  of 
superiority  one  over  another.  The  happy  and  the  powerful 
do  not  go  into  exile,  and  there  are  no  surer  guaranties  of 
equality  among  men  than  poverty  and  misfortune.  It  hap- 
pened, however,  on  several  occasions,  that  persons  of  rank 
were  driven  to  America  by  political  and  religious  quarrels. 
Laws  were  made  to  establish  a  gradation  of  ranks ;  but  it 


OMGIN  OP  THE  ANOIO-AMEWCANS. 


85 

was  soon  found  that  the  soil  of  A™o  • 

temtorial  aristocracy.    To  bnW  T?'"  T  "''P'"^''  '»  « 

cultivation,  the  constant  Ir^         "f""'"'^  '"'«'  i"'" 

owner  hi.se,fwere"re:,^Va~tr'""'  ^^  ""' 
prepared,  its  produce  was  found  to  J-      i°  ^°""''  """ 

a  proprietor  and  a  fa».eraul^™f-»'  *»  T™" 
then  natural  y  broken  iin  ;n»„      "°"™«-     The  land  was 

proprietor  culLatedLlTerta  r'r-  "'"'^•'  ">« 
aristoc^cy,  which  clings  rf^  .^'^J  *«  >-«  of  an 

't  is  not  by  Privileges^one,  nor  bibr*7rr  I"' !"' 
property  handed  down  from  „™.  ^  '  """  ''^  ''>"<'«<1 

an  aristocn«>y  is  consti^t^.^TCr"  ^"^"''°"*  *■>■" 
mense  fortunes  and  extrem»  ^>  V'l.T  ^^  P'^^"'  ™- 
fortunes  are  ^rrit^Zrul^'r '' """^ '^'^^ ''^'-'' 

-imply  the  class  of  the  richldhar„fr  ""'°""'°^'  ''"' 

All  the  British  colonies  h^  tb.  P""""' 

lilceness  at  the  epoch  711  W  '  ^'""  ''"Sree  of  family 
their  l«gin„i„g,Ce1tTin!dr''"'-  '^"  °'*^"''  ^"^ 
of  the  aristocStic  Xrty  of  tf  T'  ^^  «^°''"''  "»' 

that  freedom  of  the  Sle  15  k""     "i  ™""''^'  *""  "' 

^^/-.oridbadi-^^rrr-s-itii*: 

^^:e*L^:elc:r^^rL-c^^^^^^^^^  ^-^  -^'>. 
out.  Two  branches  may  ZT/  T^'"^ '»  ?»'■" 
Anglo-American  family,  wh^ehS^,^''  '"  *^  ^'^ 
without  entirely  comminebW    tb  •**''"'  S"""'"  -P 

other  in  the  North.        ^^'    ""  ""^  '"  *«  South,  the 

Virginia  received  the  first  P„„r  i      i 
took  possession  of  it  i„  16OT  ^"f  ^'l  ™'°"/ ^  *«  emigrants 
"nd  silver  are  the  som^es  of  „^t'     ,'*  *"""  "^"^  "^  S"" 

'i™esmg„..riyprevaie'::ri:C:;r.\^::r^v--,'^-  . 

has  done  more  to  impoverish  Z  „    "^  <'«'"™''.  which 
adopted  it,  and  has  crm„t  T'  "*''<»"  ^''o 

»ited  influence  of  wTanT  w"  Ws'"  ^Th:""'  *^"  *^" 

^aws.     ihe  men  sent  to 


H 


■1!' 


n^n 


I 


^:|'! 


>tj 


86 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


Virginia  *  were  seekers  of  gold,  adventurers  without  re- 
sources and  without  cliaracter,  wliose  turbulent  and  rest- 
less spirit  endangered  the  infant  colony,!  and  rendered  its 
progress  uncertain.  Artisans  and  agriculturists  arrived 
afterwards ;  and,  although  they  were  a  more  moral  and 
orderly  race  of  men,  they  were  hardly  in  any  respect 
above  the  level  of  the  inferior  classes  in  England.:):  No 
lofty  views,  no  spiritual  conception,  presided  over  the 
foundation  of  these  new  settlements.  The  colony  was 
scarcely  established  when  slavery  was  introduced  ;§  this 
was  the  capital  fact  which  was  to  exercise  an  immense  in- 
fluence on  the  character,  the  laws,  and  the  whole  future 
of  the  South.  Slavery,  as  we  shall  afterwards  show,  dis- 
honors labor ;  it  introduces  idleness  into  society,  and  with 
idleness,  ignorance  and  pride,  luxury  and  distress.  It  ener- 
vates the  powers  of  the  mind,  and  benumbs  the  activity 
of  man.     The  influence  of  slavery,  united  to  the  English 

•  The  charter  granted  by  the  crown  of  England  in  1609  stipulated, 
amongst  other  conditions,  that  the  adventurers  should  pay  to  the  crown  a 
fifth  of  the  produce  of  all  gold  and  silver  mines.  See  Marshall's  Life  of 
Washington,  Vol.  I.  pp.  18-66. 

t  A  large  portion  of  the  adventurers,  says  Stith  (History  of  Virginia), 
were  unprincipled  young  men  of  family,  whom  their  parents  were  glad  to 
ship  off  in  order  to  save  them  from  an  ignominious  fate,  discharged  ser 
rants,  fraudulent  bankrupts,  debauchees,  and  others  of  the  same  class,  peo 
pie  more  apt  to  pillage  and  destroy  than  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the 
settlement.  Seditious  leaders  easily  enticed  this  band  into  every  kind  of 
extravagance  and  excess.  See  for  the  history  of  Vii^ginia  the  following 
works :  — 

"History  of  Virginia,  from  the  First  Settlements  in  the  Year  1624,"  by 
Smith. 

"  History  of  Virginia,"  by  William  Stith. 

"  History  of  Virginia,  from  the  Earliest  Period,"  by  Beverley. 

I  It  was  not  till  some  time  later  that  a  certain  number  of  rich  English 
capitalists  came  to  establish  themselves  in  the  colony. 

§  Slavery  waa   introduced  about   the   year  1620,  by  a  Dutch  vessel 


which  landed  twenty  negroes  on  the  banks  of  the  James  River. 

Sec 

Chalmers. 

I 

'-■mmmti  mmnmsiJi^A 


OmoiN   OK  Tim  AXGLO-AJIERICANS. 


87 

to  enter  into  some  details.  ^^  ^^  ^"°'^^^ 

In  the  English  colonies  of  the  North    rr, 
known  as  the  States  of  New  Enln.Ti  .'i        '"  ^'"'"""^ 

;-«.*««  the   whole  coLfedeJiZ  '%?"*'  ""'^  '''*^- 
their  influence  beyond  it3  limtr  .^^  "°^  "^'^'l 

world.  The  ciX"rorof  'n ew  Z,  "l  f  °'t  ^■"^™''" 
beacon  lit  upon  a  hill  Ivt  /^""'  ""^  "««"  l*e  a 
wa^th  immSteV  a;o:„d1:  T  '^  '"  '"*'^^  '"^ 
horizon  with  its  glow  '  ""^'   *«  <""«»* 

The  foundation  of  Npw  f«^i     j 

and  all  the  circumleera^tST"""-'  T*"'^' 
original.  Kearlv  all  r„ln„-  ^  ® ,  ^"^  ""«»''"•  and 
either  V  n.e„  Ulr'StitrL^^^,  [r^"- 

^Xh^h  tt  t^ Lr  r  ■^'-"^-  ~tS 

turers  greedy  ofZ       «'"    ^  T"'"'""  =•"<"  "dven- 

boast  sf  honorab  eT'ori'rSt'D  "•  "'^  '="■"'"  ^™" 
by  buccaneer, ;    and    TTj  "T^"  ^"^  ''"""''ed 

courts  of  E„.,i;„d  In,     i,    P"^''"'  '•''•>''   "'e  •^■•'■■"inal 

The  settfe."  who  S^ld  .7"'^ "  "'  ^"^'-'■■''■ 
Now  England  all  be ^d  t„  .iL  Z'^^^"  '^«  ^ho-  of 
of  their  native  countrv     TI,!       "       "dependent  classes 
country.     Their  union  on  the  soU  of  Amer- 

»:  'tl::::  *:  f-'-r  rc"-^^  ■•'  *-  -  -  ■'■« «... 


if 


• 


■'H 


'I! 
.4i  [ 


i    : 


Bi-ijy,- 


88 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


ica  at  once  presented  the  singular  phenomenon  of  a  society 
containing  neither  lords  nor  common  people,  and  we  may 
almost  say,  neither  rich  nor  poor.  These  men  possessed, 
in  proportion  to  their  number,  a  greater  mass  of  intelh- 
gence  thnii  is  to  be  found  in  any  European  nation  of  our 
own  time.  All,  perhaps  without  a  single  exception,  had 
received  a  good  education,  and  many  of  them  were  known 
in  Europe  for  their  talents  and  their  acquirements.  The 
other  colonies  had  been  founded  by  adventurers  without 
families;  the  emigrants  of  New  England  brought  with 
them  the  best  element^s  of  order  and  morahty ;  they  landed 
on  the  desert  coast  accompanied  by  their  v/ives  and  chil- 
dren. But  what  especially  distinguished  them  from  all 
others  was  the  aim  of  their  undertaking.  They  had  not 
been  obliged  by  necessity  to  leave  their  country ;  the  social 
position  they  abandoned  was  one  to  be  regretted,  and  their 
L\eans  of  subsistence  were  certain.  Nor  did  they  cross  the 
Atlantic  to  improve  their  situation  or  to  increase  their 
wealth ;  it  was  a  purely  intellectual  craving,  which  called 
them  from  the  comforts  of  their  former  homes ;  and  in 
facing  the  inevitable  sufferings  of  exile,  their  object  was 
the  triumph  of  an  idea. 

The  emigrants,  or,  as  they  deservedly  styled  themselves, 
the  Pilgrims,  belonged  to  that  Enghsh  sect  the  austerity 
of  whose  principles  had  acquired  for  them  the  name  of 
Puritans.  Puritanism  was  not  merely  a  rehgious  doctrine, 
but  it  corresponded  in  many  points  with  the  most  absolute 
democratic  and  lepublican  theories.  It  was  this  tendency 
which  had  aroused  its  most  dangerous  adversaries.  Perse- 
cuted by  the  government  of  the  mother  country,  and  dis- 
gusted by  the  habits  of  a  society  which  the  ri;^cr  of  their 
own  principles  condemned,  the  Puritans  went  forth  to  seek 
some  rude  and  unfrequented  part  of  the  world,  where  they 
could  Hve  according  to  their  own  opinions,  and  worship 
God  in  freedom. 


OBIOm  OF  THE  ANGLO-AMEMCANS.  8> 

A  few  quotations  will  throw  mnro  i;„i,. 
»f  tliese  pious  adventurettlri^  ttl  "^°"  ""  '^^' 
them.    Nathaniel  Morton  »  ITw.    ■       7^  ""^  '"^  "^ 

of  thesetUe.ent,^r;;st^C- ''^  ^"^^ 

looi.et"ut!tl:'aTtvi^r^  ^"""^  '-^  "^  '- 
mediate  sued"  rf^ose  tto  ha  Tl'^^""  *^  ™- 
rienee  of  those  many  mTorattt™,!  1  T  '"^  ^^" 
of  God's  goodness  VirTT!  f^'.^'S"^  demonstrations 

tion  in  nL  eZC'  t  ^^'"  "*■  '^  P'»««- 

dispensations  ofa^rS'^jf-S  .^^^  g-ious 
thereunto,  not  onlv  Mh7  ■     T^       many  mducements 

Sacred  sl^L^:"^ ^Z^i^""'  \"  '"''"'^y  ™  *« 
our  fethe.  Le  told  „t  (^Ps^^^^rr"'  ""'  "'"' 
hide  from  our  children  ,l,\j-  -.  ^  '  ^^'  "^^  "^V  not 
the  praises  o7  S^S  Z"^  ^  ^n  ^^T"'**'""  »»  «"-« 
ham  his  servant  ^'ft\^r^^.  *^  ^^^-^  "^  ^bra- 

that  God  4?e  atnet/o-tril^el^^  Zll^  ''^ 

hathguidtThis  Jonl„t  i  °"'^  '"'  •'"*  '^»  *«  he 
tion,  Td  pitted  £  ^  ;^  ''"''«*  '»  "»  holyhabita- 
in  mpect  rf  pteSls  '°  f  T""*^  "^  "«  -heritance 
especi%  God  mlvhTve  rt  ''I  '''•'T'"'^^  ^^  that  aa 
most  due  •  so  »r^  ^''''^  "^  ^  ™"'  '"'''om  it  is 

and  the  bSi  71  J      ""^  *^  ""'"  '-'™»e„ts 
.  "S-nning  ot  this  happy  enterprise." 


.i;'s:f;!r^T:r'-""'«°-'-'- 


•  i| 


i     5 


'i 


[Mi 
-  1 1 


See  also  Hatch 


■A  P  t 


40 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


iiiiiili 


very  savor  of  Gospel  antiquity.  The  sincerity  of  the 
author  heightens  his  power  of  language.  In  our  eyes,  as 
well  as  in  his  own,  it  was  not  a  mere  party  of  adventurers 
gone  forth  to  seek  their  fortune  beyond  seas,  but  the  germ 
of  a  great  nation  wafted  by  Providence  to  a  predestined 
shore. 

The  author  continues,  and  thus  describes  the  departure 
of  the  first  pilgrims :  — 

"  So  they  left  that  goodly  and  pleasaiit  city  of  Leyden,* 
which  had  been  their  resting-place  for  above  eleven  years  ; 
but  they  knew  that  they  were  pilgrims  and  strangers  here 
below,  and  looked  not  much  on  these  things,  but  lifted  up 
their  eyes  to  heaven,  their  dearest  country,  where  God 
hath  prepared  for  them  a  city  (Heb.  xi.  16),  and  therein 
quieted  their  spirits.  "When  they  came  to  Delfs-Haven 
they  found  the  ship  and  all  things  ready ;  and  such  of  their 
friends  as  could  not  come  with  them  followed  after  them, 
and  sundry  came  from  Amsterdam  to  see  them  shipt,  and 
to  take  their  leaves  of  them.  One  night  was  spent  with 
little  sleep  with  the  most,  but  with  friendly  entertainment 
and  Christian  discourse,  and  other  real  expressions  of  true 
Christian  love.  The  next  day  they  went  on  board,  and 
their  friends  with  them,  where  truly  doleftJ  was  the  sight 
of  that  sad  and  moumfiil  parting,  to  hear  what  sighs  and 
sobs  and  prayers  did  sound  amongst  thom ;  what  tears  did 
gush  from  every  eye,  and  pithy  speeches  pierced  each 


*  The  emigrants  were,  for  the  most  part,  godly  Christians  from  the 
aorthem  [central]  part  of  England,  who  had  quitted  their  native  country  be- 
cause they  were  "  studious  of  reformation,  and  entered  into  covenant  to  walk 
with  one  another  according  to  the  primitive  pattern  of  the  Word  of  Grod." 
They  em'Vrated  to  Holland,  and  settled  in  the  city  of  Leyden  in  1610, 
where  they  abode,  being  lovingly  respected  by  the  Dutch,  for  many  years  : 
they  left  it  in  1620  for  several  reasons,  the  last  of  which  was,  that  their  pos* 
terity  would  in  a  few  generations  become  Dutch,  and  so  lose  their  interest  in 
the  English  nation ;  they  being  desirous  rather  to  enlarge  his  Majesty's  do 
minions,  and  to  live  under  their  natural  prince.  —  Trarslalor's  Note, 


OHIGD,  OP  THE  ANGIO-AMEWOANS. 


41 

other-8  heart,  that  eundnr  of  the  Dnt.l.  * 
stood  on  the  Key  as  SDeetafn™  t,  ^  'trangers  that 
But  the  tide  (whict  ftT™  C  ''  "f  '^'^  «•»""  *^- 
that  were  thus  JoTh  to S  ,1,"  •  T^  "^"^  *''^'»  '"''•7. 

cheek,  commended  them  with  ^Sf  '  "^'^  ''*'*'7 
the  Lord  and  his  blessing  C  C  T"'  '^'^^^'^  "»«» 
-d  ™ny  tea^  ^/^ktet  w' re'r/^'T" 
WW,  proved  to  be  Ae  last  le...Zl:^  fC^^^'' 

The  emigrants  were  about  ISO  in  ^..^kT  •  ,^  ' 
women  and  the  children  Thl-  u-  ^'^'  '""'"drng  the 
ony  on  the  sho^^rf  Sie  ntl  'f  "1  *"  P'""' »  ««'- 
<Wven  about  for  sl^L^tZ  Atlant' O  ^« '^^" 
were  forced  to  land  on  the  arid  c^t  o^^!"  ^'T'  ^^ 
aie^ot  which  i,  now  the  to^  „rp  W  h  l?^''  "J 
B  Still  shown  on  which  tbo  r.ii™-      j/7™""th.    The  rock 

"  But  before  ZpLm  ^^T  '^"'^^'^■' 
thereaderwith  mem'S«"^d"  "",'^'-».  "'«' 
poor  people,  present  conSh^i  ^T  ^^'^'f  *^ 
admiration  of  God'«»  crno^««    .        ?  °®  ^^®®<i  "P  to 

ervation:  for  Zt^ Zl^Z^^  "f"  '"  *-  P-- 
of  troubles  before  them  in.  !  •  ™"  °°^"'  »°d  »  ^e* 
friends  to  welcome^m  "?^'*'«'"'  «l'«y  had  now  no 
them,  no  hoi^^^r  ^^1^  T  *"  *"'"'''"  »  ^^^h 
for  succour:  and  forZfJ  ^7""'  *"  '^P'^  ""t"  '»  seek 
tnow  the  win"„  tf  te  ^unt^tr  "^f' ''""'  ^^^  *« 

-.  B..es.w&7ter::rtT^d::^- 

•  ftasofflie  i,  prized  a,  .  Jc     B^Tr       v  ^"^  ''^'  ^  »«i«°. 

"°"™* »"-'  Who  .™.b,„i"r^".L':r:f  *"  '""'^  "^  • 


I        1^   1^ 


S^^^^^^^^He 

1 

1  1 

1 

1 

^H^^^^^^^^K'^ 

j 

j 

^^^^^^B' 

1 

!ti!i; 


42 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


desolate  wilderness,  ftill  of  wilde  beasts,  and  wilde  men  ? 
and  what  multitudes  of  them  there  were,  they  then  knew 
not :  for  which  way  soever  they  turned  their  eyes  (save 
upward  to  Hea\en)  they  could  have  but  little  solace  or 
content  in  respect  of  any  outward  object;  for  summer 
being  ended,  all  things  stand  in  appearance  with  a  weather- 
beaten  face,  and  the  whole  country,  full  of  woods  and 
thickets,  represented  a  wild  and  savage  hew;  if  they 
looked  behind  them,  there  was  the  mighty  ocean  which 
they  had  passed,  and  was  now  as  a  main  bar  or  gulph  to 
separate  them  from  all  the  civil  parts  of  the  world."  * 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  the  piety  of  the  Puritans 
was  merely  speculative,  or  that  it  took  no  cognizance  of 
the  course  of  worldly  aflPairs.  Puritanism,  as  I  have  al- 
ready remarked,  was  scarcely  less  a  poUtical  than  a  relig- 
ious doctrine.  No  sooner  had  the  emigrants  landed  on 
the  barren  coast  described  by  Nathaniel  Morton,  than  it 
was  their  first  care  to  constitute  a  society,  by  subscribing 
the  following  Act:  — 

"In  the  name  of  God.  Amen.  We,  whose  names 
are  underwritten,  the  loyal  subjects  of  om  dread  Sovereign 
Lord  King  James,  &c.  &c..  Having  undertaken  for  the 
glory  of  God,  and  advancement  of  the  Christian  Faith,  and 
the  honour  of  our  King  and  country,  a  voyage  to  plant  the 
first  colony  in  the  northern  parts  of  Virginia ;  Do  by  these 
presents  solemnly  and  mutually,  in  the  presence  of  God 
and  one  another,  covenant  and  combine  ourselves  together 
into  a  civil  body  politick,  for  our  better  ordering  and  pres- 
ervation, and  furtherance  of  the  ends  aforesaid :  and  by 

*  Though  the  work  from  which  the  foregoing  extracts  are  taken  appeared 
mder  the  title  of  "New  England's  Memorial,"  as  written  by  Nathaniel 
Morton,  it  was  compiled  by  him  chiefly  from  the  manuscripts  of  William 
Bradford,  who  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Pilgrims  during  their  stay  in 
Holland,  and  was  elected  the  governor  of  their  settlement  at  Plymouth, 
which  office  he  continued  to  hold  for  many  years.  The  language  in  these 
extracts  is  almost  entirely  that  of  Bradford.  —  Am.  Ed. 


OBIGIN  OF  THE  ANGLO-AMERICANS. 


--  43 

time  to  time,  as  sliall  he&^^T^"""'  ""'  ''«'=^'  &«■» 
for  the  geneil  good  of  t^e  CoW  ""''' """"  ™"™"'«°' 
i3e^.duesubi3io„»i':,".t^,™:7"">>- P- 

emS^titr^  ot  ^'f,' ^'l.fr-  «-t  i-  forward,  the 

of  Charles  1  d^t  C'cXrof  ^1*«  ^""'^  ™^ 
to  the  shores  of  America     iTp    f  'f  f" «»«  eveiy  year 

Puritanism  continuedTbet  tht     ;.!'''  f^""^''*  "^ 
was  from  the  middle  classes  th^/  »'ddle  classes ;  and  it 

came.  The  population  rfN^Jtln  '  "^  *'  ^""^'^ 
and  whilst  the  hierarchv  „f  ,.^  '*'""^'^'«Pi<^'y.• 
inhabitantsofthe3cl'S'th3*'^^  ""^^  '^« 
more  and  more  the  novel  ~{fTt  f  ^  "PP"^'"^'i 
geneous  in  all  its  parts      H  community  homo- 

about  the  destiny  °f^o''L?f  "^^  *»>™  "o  anxiety 
of  America  from  le  ril  rf  T^^  "  *■•«"»  "»  *«  «oil 
if  New  England  wa:M^„f  ^Z  u^o  tb  7"^^"  " 
fancy,  and  the  "nrestrained  e:cpeA^e„te  „f  •  "^^^  "'' 
The  English  colonies  r»„^  t^™  "movatore. 

of  their  prosperitrhavr?,        "  ""'  "^  *^  ™^  <^''«««' 

freedom  a^d  mo  epoKM  tT'  ?°^^''  ""^^  "'^^^J 
political  mdependence  than  the  colonies 

»ho  s;rs:  te^r^f^f r.°'  r-  ""-^  <- '«». «-« 

-^  ...e  founae™  of  F.vi  Jee  TVe/o  tl^' ir.r  '°°"°"*"'  '»  '«»»• 
up  a  social  contract,  wUch  waa  acceded  -.7^,  u  '°"™''  '^  *»'"'"'S 
HlkiD'.  Htaoty,  pp.  42  and  4I  *  " '''' "'  "» '■"«■«»«  partiea.    S« 


il 


i'i 


I 'J  I 


1    ' 


M» 


44 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


of  Other  nations ;  and  this  principle  of  liberty  was  nowhere 
more  extensively  applied  than  in  the  States  of  New  Eng- 
land. 

It  was  generally  allowed  at  that  period,  that  the  territo- 
ries of  the  New  World  belonged  to  that  European  nation 
which  had  been  the  first  to  discover  them.  Nearly  the 
whole  coast  of  North  America  thus  became  a  British  pos- 
session towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
means  used  by  the  Enghsh  government  to  people  these 
new  domains  were  of  several  kinds :  the  king  sometimes 
appointed  a  governor  of  his  own  choice,  who  ruled  a  por- 
tion of  the  New  World  in  the  name  and  under  the  imme- 
diate orders  of  the  crown ;  *  this  is  the  colonial  system 
adopted  by  the  other  countries  of  Europe.  Sometimes, 
grants  of  certain  tracts  were  made  by  the  crown  to  an  in- 
dividual or  to  a  company,!  in  which  case  all  the  civil  and 
political  power  fell  into  the  hands  of  one  or  more  persons, 
who,  imder  the  inspection  and  control  of  the  crown,  sold 
the  lands  and  governed  the  inhabitants.  La^stly,  a  third 
system  consisted  in  allowing  a  certain  number  of  emigrants 
to  form  themselves  into  a  political  society  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  mother  country,  and  to  govern  themselves 
in  whatever  was  not  contrary  to  her  laws.  This  mode  of 
colonization,  so  favorable  to  liberty,  was  adopted  only  in 
New  England.  I 

•  This  was  the  case  in  the  State  of  New  York. 

t  Maryland,  the  Carolinas,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey  were  in  thi» 
situation.     See  Pitkin's  History,  Vol.  I.  pp.  11-31. 

t  See  the  work  entitled  "Historical  Collection  of  State  Papers  and 
other  authentic  Documents  intended  as  Materials  for  an  History  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  by  Ebenezer  Hazard,"  (Philadelphia,  1792,)  for 
a  great  number  of  documents  relating  to  the  commencement  of  the  colonies, 
which  are  valuable  from  their  contents  and  their  authenticity:  amongst 
them  are  the  various  charters  granted  by  the  king  of  England,  and  th« 
first  acts  of  the  local  governments. 

See  also  the  analysis  of  all  these  charters  given  by  Mr.  Story,  Judge  of 


ORlaiN  OF  THE  ANGLO-AMERICANS.  45 

colonies  of  Ne;  ES'ti^T"  "T  "<"  6^™"  to  the 

Connecticut,  and  Khode  M^nH  +  ^"'^f'"^'  ^ew  Haven, 

he>p,  and  almost  ^tuf  t Iro^L^ ^f  "'^ 
countiy.     The  n-w  ^Pttla.=  j-j    ^^®^S®'  ^t  the  mother 

fro.  1  head  onh;::::^,i:;H'r  .i^^^^^^^^^^ 

;iroftftr^r:^L^— ^  ^ne  :j;:„f ^:;5f- 

rights  of  soveSf'Thev  '^  ™ntaually  exercised  the 
cMed  peace  oXfaie^I:""',''  *f  ""g'^'^'"-.  con- 
enacted  Ls,  i  if  t!^„n  •  '  P""*""  '^S^»tio»«.  and 
\r  .I,-  '-  "  '"^ir  allegiance  was  due  onlv  to  fJr.^  + 

Nothing  can  be  more  curious,  and  at  tl.„  .        V  '* 

instructive,  than  the  hm,Z'.T  fX        ^^  """^  "«»^ 

that  the  sdution  of  IT^^,  "'^  "i"'  Pr"*'  ''  ^  ""^^ 
TT„;t«J  «♦„.  S^'  '"C'al  problem  which  th« 

United  States  now  present  to  the  world  is  to  be  found 

the  Supreme  Com  of  the  UniteiJ  State,  in  .k.  t  .    j     . 

meatarie,  on  the  (^„,,..«„„  of  If  UMMstt^Tt^  *°  "JV  ^''■ 

doeaments,  that  the  prindples  „f  rep«av.  1  '""'"^  ''''  '^'^ 

-o;r?;.:r:i'°-=- 

..^  .n  L  so«hXn:;?'i.re:^,r^  -« -- '- «« -»«" 

*  See  Pitkin's  History,  p.  35.     Also,  the  "History  of  .>,«  n  , 
Massachusetts  Bay,"  by  Hutchinson,  Vol.  In  9     ^  '  ^°^°°^  °^ 

t  See  Pitkin's  History,  pp.  42,  47. 

t  The  inhabitants  of  Liassachuset'ts  had  deviated  fW,™  .1,    r 
are  preserved  in  the  criminal  and  civil  procedir  f  jt?  .       ""'  ^"^'^ 
name  of  the  king  was  not  vet  nut  at  fJlTl.  ^^°** '  '"  '^^0,  the 

flatchinson.  Vol.  I   p  452  '^  ''  ''*'  '^"^^^  ^^  j-^'<^e-     See 


;lii 


'I'  !• 


i'il! 


46 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


Amongst  these  documents  we  shall  notice,  as  especially 
characteristic',  the  code  of  laws  promulgated  by  the  little 
state  of  Connecticut  in  1650.* 

The  legislators'  of  Connecticut!  begin  with  the  penal 
laws,  and,  strange  to  say,  they  borrow  their  provisions  from 
the  text  of  Holy  Writ. 

"Whosoever  shall  worship  any  other  God  than  th»* 
Lord,"  says  the  preamble  of  the  Code,  "  shall  surely  be 
put  to  death."  This  is  followed  by  ten  or  twelve  enact- 
ments of' the  same  kind,  copied  verbatim  from  the  books 
of  Exodus,  Leviticus,  and  Deuteronomy.  Blasphemy,  sor- 
cery, adultery,  J  and  rape  were  punished  with  death ;  an 
outrage  offered  by  a  son  to  his  parents  was  to  be  expi- 
ated by  the  same  penalty.  The  legislation  of  a  rude  and 
half-civiUzed  people  was  thus  applied  to  an  enlightened  and 
moral  community.  The  consequence  was,  that  the  punish- 
ment of  death  was  never  more  frequently  prescribed  by 
statute,  and  never  more  rarely  enforced.  § 

The  chief  care  of  the  legislators,  in  this  body  of  penal 
laws,  was  the  maintenance  of  orderly  conduct  and  good 
morals  in  the  community:  thus  they  constantly  invaded 

*  Code  of  1650,  p.  28  (Hartford,  1830). 

t  See  also  in  Hutchinson's  History,  Vol.  I.  pp.  435,  456,  the  analysis 
of  the  penal  code  adopted  in  1648  by  the  colony  of  Massachusetts:  this 
code  is  drawn  up  on  the  same  principles  as  that  of  Connecticut. 

I  Adultery  was  also  punished  with  death  by  the  law  of  Massachusetts : 
and  Hutchinson  (Vol.  I.  p.  441 )  says  that  several  persons  actually  suffered 
for  this  crime.  He  quotes  a  curious  anecdote  on  this  subject,  of  what  took 
place  in  the  year  1663.  A  naarried  woman  had  had  criminal  intercourse 
with  a  young  man ;  her  husband  died,  and  she  married  the  lover.  Several 
years  had  elapsed,  when  the  public  began  to  suspect  the  previous  intercourse 
of  this  couple :  they  were  thrown  into  prison,  put  upon  trial,  and  very  nar- 
rowly escaped  capital  punishment. 

§  Except  in  England,  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  wher« 
more  than  one  hundred  crimes  wera  statutably  punishable  with  death,  but 
not  more  than  one  out  of  a  hundred  convicted  persons  were  actually  ex* 
cuted.  —  Am.  Ed. 


OWGIN  OP  Tm  ANGLO-AMElilCASS. 


47 

the  domain  of  conscience   «n^  .1, 

which  was  not  subjec   "o  t^^f,  ^^  """  '"^-^^'y  «  »» 

is  aware  of  the  rigrwulXw.''  T""*'     ^""^  ^"i^' 

likewise  severely  repressed  T^-  """"''  P""™'  was 
inflict  either  a  pecu„w'  e^X^^S^  ^  ™P'"-^«d  to 
rage,*  on  the  misdeme»aSr L  ;f Tu '^^'"8.  "'•  "">- 
old  courts  of  New  Hav»n  ?  ,     ""*  '*'='»*  «<'  the 

^properian^a^::!  mt:,!™  f  •  Tf 
The  Code  of  1650  nhn„«^    •       ^  "^^seit  to  be  kissed.f 

punishes  icUeness'L^'  i"rr'™  '°f°^«-  ^' 
l^eepers  we.^  forbidden  to  S  n^l  T"'^"  *  ^""- 
quantit,  of  liquor  to  each  colmer  L  "l  T*" 
whenever  it  n.y  be  injurious^ne^Cd  .:""'«  '^"^• 
flogging.  In  other  places  th»  I.  ?7f  ^^  V  a  fine  or  a 
ting  the  great  princfples  rf tr  ^    "f'  ""^^'^  ^^'S^^ 

"■•"'-'-"«"-. KISS'S 

*  Code  of  1650,  p.  43      it  „„ 
judges  Mio^d  these  punishJ^Ctaur  ■"  '""  """"-"^  •"■  "» 

several  causes  equally  extraordinary  '  '°  Hutchinson's  Historjr  for 

t  Code  of  1650,  pp.  50  67  „  ^l- , 

J  This  was  not  peouiar  'to  ConLt  em  '"  f    .       "  ""''"  P"  ^• 
;^h.eh,  on  the  13th  of  September    Zt    •  f'.'  '"'  '"'**°^'  ^^^  ^^^ 
Massachusetts.    (Historical  Collect;  of  gL^p'  *''  ^'^^'^P*^^*^  ^°' 
also  the  law  against  the  Quakm  .  P'"'  ^"'-  ^'  P'  «38-)    Se« 

bas  sprang  up,"  etc.     The  claies  of^hT  ?'"'  ^^"''''''  '''''^  Q'^^" 

--« Of  Ships  Who  should  iCir  r  t;:x:ir  "'^ " 


1:  -! 


! 


!i"H 


Quaki 


era 


i^^m&MSsaiiseAamMita 


48 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


chose  to  worship  God  according  to  a  ritual  differing  from 
his  own.*  Sometimes,  indeed,  the  zeal  for  regulation  in- 
duces him  to  descend  to  the  most  frivolous  particulars : 
thus  a  law  is  to  be  found  in  the  same  code  which  prohibits 
the  use  of  tobacco,  f  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  these 
fantastical  and  vexatious  laws  were  not  imposed  by  au- 
thority, but  that  they  were  freely  voted  by  all  the  persons 
interested  in  them,  and  that  the  manners  of  the  commu- 
nity were  even  more  austere  and  puritanical  than  the  laws. 
In  1649,  a  solemn  association  was  formed  in  Boston  to 
check  the  worldly  luxury  of  long  hair.  $ 

These  errors  are  no  doubt  discreditable  to  human  rea- 
son ;  they  attest  the  inferiority  of  our  nature,  which  is 
incapable  of  laying  firm  hold  upon  what  is  true  and  just, 
and  is  often  reduced  to  the  alternative  of  two  excesses. 
In  strict  connection  with  this  penal  legislation,  which  bears 
such  striking  marks  of  a  narrow,  sectarian  spirit,  and  of 
those  religious  passions  wliich  had  been  wanned  by  perse- 
cution and  were  still  fermenting  among  the  people,  a  body 
of  poUtical  laws  is  to  be  found,  which,  though  written  two 
hundred  years  ago,  is  still  in  advance  of  the  liberties  of 
our  age. 

The  general  principles  which  are  the  groundwork  of 
modem  constitutions  —  principles  which,  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  were  imperfectly  known  in  Europe,  and 

who  may  be  found  there  shall  be  whipt  and  imprisoned  with  hard  labor.  Those 
members  of  the  sect  who  should  defend  their  opinions  shall  be  first  fined, 
then  imprisoned,  and  finally  driven  out  of  the  province.  Historical  Col- 
lection of  State  Papers,  Vol.  I.  p.  630. 

*  By  the  penal  law  of  Massachusetts  [1647]  any  Catholic  priest  who 
should  set  foot  in  the  colony  after  having  been  once  driven  out  of  it  was 
liable  to  capital  punishment.  [This  act  had  a  political  rather  than  an  cccle< 
siastical  purpose,  and  was  of  a  piece  with  the  penal  legislation  of  England 
at  about  the  same  period,  and  long  afterwards,  against  the  Catholics 
—  Am.  Ed.] 

t  Codeof  1650,  p.  96. 

I  New  England's  Memorial,  p.  316.     See  Appendix  E. 


OWGIN  OF  THE  AN0L0-A.IEBI0AN3.  49 

not  completely  triumphant  even  in  Great  Rri.  • 
all  rocogni^Kl  and  established  by  theTrl  „fT~r" 
land:  the  intervention  nf  fl,.    ^  ,     •  "^  ^^^  ^"6- 

free  voting  of  ^r  th,  '"°?^,."'  P""'"  "fS^.  *« 
power.  peSonalTbtnytHnTr^  °' "■"  ■^"'^  "^ 
tively  esubliahed  witliittcl^st'^  ^"'^'  "^-^  ""  "-- 

ventured  to  attempt  "'"'"  ""  ^""P^  ■«"  ?«' 

oHSn.'ortr^hl'Lrr' ei^:f^  -"t\^'  '^^  '- 
%  .0  be  undemood..  wt^w^e  C^ /  tSt  in"!''  "'^■ 

zens  above  the  ao-P  nf  o;^*..  , ,    »3iaie.f     ihe  citi- 

they  Wd  a  ?^:I;ti^^,.r™.-t"^''  '°  ''^"  ''™- ' 
officer,  and  was  ttr„7d  Tts^Vi^'^  "^^'^'^  "^  »-> 
ma:.h  for  the  defence  of  ZZ^'f,  '"""  '"  '^^^  '« 
In  the  Ws  of  Connecticut,  aa  well  as  in  »II  .1.         . 
New  England,  we  find  the  gem  a^d  L^    .  f  '^'^  "^ 
of  that  township  independenS^SllTfhfli^r;'''"'"* 
spnng  of  American  liberty  at  Jhe  prl^L'"'  ^.e"",":' 
icai  existence  of  the  maioritv  rf  *r        •  ^  P"''*" 

commenced  i„   the  su": C^^^V^tT  °'  ^."""P^ 
gradually  and  imnerfeotW  •         °°'^'^'  ^'^  ^^ 

membe/of  theZS  T„"r::^  '°  t^  '"*-'" 

ooay.    m  America,  on  the  contrary, 

*  Constitution  of  1638,  p.  17. 
§  Constitution  of  1638,  p.  12 

i 


•:  I 


i  I 


.'*.,i.W«&..#aa 


50 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


it  may  Le  said  that  the  township  was  organized  before  the 
county,  tlie  county  before  the  State,  the  State  before  the 

Union. 

In  New  England,  townships  were  completely  and  defini- 
tively constituted  as  early  as  1650.  The  independence  of 
the  township  was  the  nucleus  round  which  the  local  inter- 
ests, passions,  rights,  and  duties  collected  and  clung.  It 
gave  scope  to  the  activity  of  a  real  pohtical  life,  thoroughly 
democratic  and  republican.  The  colonies  still  recognized 
the  supremacy  of  the  mother  country ;  monarchy  was  still 
the  law  of  the  State ;  but  the  republic  was  already  estab- 
lished in  every  township. 

The  towns  named  their  own  magistrates  of  every  kind, 
rated  themselves,  and  levied  their  own  taxes.*  In  the 
New  England  town,  the  law  of  representation  was  not 
adopted ;  but  the  affairs  of  the  community  were  discussed, 
as  at  Athens,  in  the  market-place,  by  a  general  assembly 

of  the  citizens. 

In  studying  the  laws  which  were  promulgated  at  this 
early  era  of  the  American  republics,  it  is  impossible  not  to 
be  struck  by  the  remarkable  acquaintance  with  the  science 
of  government,  and  the  advanced  theory  of  legislation, 
which  they  display.  The  ideas  there  formed  of  the  duties 
of  society  towards  its  members  are  evidently  much  loftier 
and  more  comprehensive  than  those  of  European  legislators 
at  that  time :  obligations  were  there  imposed  upon  it  which 
it  elsewhere  slighted.  In  the  States  of  New  England,  from 
the  first,  the  condition  of  the  poor  was  provided  for ;  f 
strict  measures  were  taken  for  the  maintenance  of  roads, 
^nd  surveyors  were  appointed  to  attend  to  ther  ■  "■  -ocords 
were  estabhshed  in  every  town,  in  which  the  rejiults  of 
public  dehberations,  and  the  births,  deaths,  anu  iiiamages 
of  the  citizens,  were  entered  ;§   clerks  were  directed  to 


*  Code  of  .650,  p.  80.  t  Ibid.,  p.  78. 

f  8sie  TT':;-cbinson'8  History,  Vol.  I.  p.  455. 


}  Ibid.,  p.  49. 


OKlSm   or  THE   ANOLO-AMEBrcANS. 


keep  those  records ;  •  officers  w.™    i 

ministration  of  vac^t  Zh^  .  ^^'^^  ^'"'  *«  «d- 

tion  of  Utigate/Slal     T'  ""'  "'*  *"  "'"'»• 

at«i,whose':hieff:„cZ^,:::'th-"/  ;"-™  we.  c«. 

order  in  the  community  +     tL  I  '"''™' "'' P""''" 

sand  various  details  to  nnL-    .         .  ™'*'"  '""•  »  Aoo- 

»ocial  want,  wh^h  ItT     ""''  ''"'""^  »  -"-<•  »f 

in  France.  '  '™"  "'"'  ^T  inadequately  felt 

tHa!::':;x:fchi:::^jSc:^"f^^^^^^^^^ 
-T'Cci.i^;::,iTKd'^^ 

men  from  the  WW^'  1: ir  ^' f  *""• '° ''-P 
*em  from  the  use  of  tll\!T  ,  ^^'^'^S 
may  not  be  buried  in  fbT  „    ™''  *»'  'naming 

church  and  commonCea'th  "ZYr^  •'■'*''^-'  '" 
deavora."!    Here  foZw    i  "^  ^'"'"S  »«  en- 

of  heavy  finesfto  su^nil    '^t^'T'^'^'  P™ 
kind  were  founded  in  Z.»l  °*  °^  »  ™Perior 

I0U3  districts,    m  mtiZ:r  a^r  V  "  *"  "<"«  '"p- 

enforce  the  sending  of  cm£  ""'  ""f  ""^  '"'""'J  *« 
they  we.^  empowelS  t^  ilt""  1°  '°''°°'  "^^  '^^'^  P-^^n's ; 
compliance;  L  rtj^es "f  co  r  "  ?""  "^  "'"'  -«««» 
assmned  the  place  ofT«  """^  resistance,  society 

child,  and  depS  I  ftthe^Tth  ""*  ""r '""  "'  '"'^ 
he  used  to  so  bad  a  purple      ThT  "T"^  "«■"'  ^^ich 

American  society^n  ICSO  t  .^'"""^  "'''  *«  »'»'«  of 
Europe,  and  mo^e  espeeSly  ^  Zt  If  T  r*""""  "^ 
'Sesame  period,  we  eLnotLlt^:::5r^riS: 


*  Code  Of  1650.  p.  86.  t  ThM 

T  Ibid.,  p.  40. 


i  ma. 


p.  90. 


r;  M 


I     ! 


"^iii2^Si!^S^ 


52 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


ment.  On  the  continent  of  Europe,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  absolute  monarchy  had  every- 
where triumphed  over  the  ruins  of  the  oligarchical  and 
feudal  liberties  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Never  perhaps  were 
the  ideas  of  right  more  completely  overlooked,  than  in  the 
midst  of  the  splendor  and  literature  of  Europe ;  never  was 
there  less  political  activity  among  the  people ;  never  were 
the  principles  of  true  freedom  less  widely  circulated ;  and 
at  that  very  time,  those  principles,  which  were  scorned  or 
unknown  by  the  nations  of  Europe,  were  proclaimed  in 
the  deserts  of  the  New  World,  and  were  accepted  as  the 
future  creed  of  a  great  people.  The  boldest  theories  of 
the  human  mind  were  reduced  to  practice  by  a  community 
so  humble,  that  not  a  statesman  condescended  to  attend  to 
it;  and  a  system  of  legislation  without  a  precedent  was 
produced  offhand  by  the  natural  originaUty  of  men's 
imaginations.  In  the  bosom  of  this  obscure  democracy, 
which  had  as  yet  brought  forth  neither  generals,  nor  phi- 
losophers, nor  authors,  a  man  might  stand  up  in  the  face 
of  a  free  people,  and  pronounce  with  general  applause  the 
following  fine  definition  of  liberty.* 

"  Concerning  liberty,  I  observe  a  great  mistake  in  the 
country  about  that.  There  is  a  twofold  liberty,  natural 
(I  mean  as  our  nature  is  now  corrupt)  and  civil  or  federal. 
The  first  is  common  to  man  with  beasts  and  other  crea- 
tures. By  this,  man,  as  he  stands  in  relation  to  man 
simply,  hath  liberty  to  do  what  he  lists ;  it  is  a  hberty  to 
evil  as  well  as  to  good.  This  liberty  is  incompatible  and 
inconsistent  with  authority,  and  cannot  endure  the  least 
restraint   of  the  most  just  authority.     The  exercise  and 

♦  Mather's  "  Magnalia  Christi  Americana,"  Vol.  II.  p.  13.  This  speech 
was  made  by  Winthrop ;  he  was  accused  of  having  committed  arbitrary  ac- 
tions daring  his  magistracy,  but  after  having  made  the  speech,  of  which  the 
above  is  a  fragment,  he  was  acquitted  by  acclamation,  and  from  that  time 
forwards  he  was  always  re-elected  Governor  of  the  State.  See  Marshall. 
Vol.  I.  p.  166. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  ANGLO-AMERICANS, 


.     .  -  53 

reference  to  the  JZZI  u  T^  ^°  ^  '^'™^<'  »<>raJ.  m 

amongst  men  theltlv^      1^.7?  ™<'/''™'''"«ons, 
and  object  of  authorUv  and  I  T  "  *"  ^'^i'^^  ^"d 

Th.s  liberty  y„„  „e  to  sLd  ^  ^f^;^-* '  »<<  honest, 
of  your  goods,  but  of  your  Ii,I  ZLa^^  ""'  ""'7 
crosseth   this,  is  not  autwt     V         "^  ^-     ^a^oever 

This  i^rtyi  ^::zf'':!'^z:j''^'-p^^  *--<•• 

jection  to  -athority;   it  i,  "f  ^f  ".»  ^ay  of  sub- 

whe^with  Christ  ifa'th  mlV  ua  ^T/  ''"''  "'  ''^Y 

(and  this  should  be  con^ta^  Jp"^,'^''';  /  ^  ^  ^ellt 
fctinct  elements,  which  in  nZ^T  ,*'  """''^  "^  '"-o 
quent  hostility,  bm  whthl  a!?  J  "^^  ''^™  "»  *- 
ineorp„„.ted  ^and  combtald  ir!™'  """'^  ''^^°  ''■^'"'"'hly 

liie  settlers  of  IVpw  17«  i     i  -^^oerty. 

ardent  sectarians  and  da^"!'™'  T  ="  «•«  -ne  time 
Kmits  of  some  of  their  iS"^  "novators.    Narrow  as  the 

free  from  ali  politic^TreSC  ""'""'"  ^^'  ^^^  -« 

whien:e~:rSLif ^ti  ^"'  -'  °^-'-' 

as  the  laws  of  the  country  ^*  "'™°«"  as  well 

''P""  of  it,  „  le  i.ser.ed  i,  .'2    ' .        ,^'""*""  «''"*«>P'.  ow. 


I  :i 


!  i| 


I  vin 


64 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


One  would  think  that  men  who  had  sacrificed  theii 
friends,  their  family,  and  their  native  land  to  a  rehgioua 
conviction  would  be  wholly  absorbed  in  the  pursuit  of  the 
treasure  which  they  had  just  purchased  at  so  high  a  price. 
And  yet  we  find  them  seeking  with  nearly  equal  zeal  for 
material  wealth  and  moral  good,  —  for  well-being  and  free- 
dom on  earth,  and  salvation  in  heaven.  They  moulded 
and  altered  at  pleasure  all  political  principles,  and  all  hu- 
man laws  and  institutions ;  they  broke  down  the  barriers 
of  the  society  in  which  they  were  bom  ;  they  disregarded 
the  old  principles  which  had  governed  the  world  for  ages ; 
a  career  without  bounds,  a  field  without  a  horizon,  was 
opened  before  them:  they  precipitate  themselves  into  it, 
and  traverse  it  in  every  direction.  But,  having  reached 
the  hmits  of  the  poHtical  world,  they  stop  of  their  own 
accord,  and  lay  aside  with  awe  the  use  of  their  most  for- 
midable faculties ;  they  no  longer  doubt  or  innovate ;  they 
abstain  fi-om  raising  even  the  veil  of  the  sanctuary,  and 
bow  with  submissive  respect  before  truths  which  they  ad- 
mit without  discussion. 

Thus,  in  the  moral  world,  everything  is  classified,  sys- 
tematized, foreseen,  and  decided  beforehand ;  in  the  politi- 
cal world,  everything  is  agitated,  disputed,  and  uncertain. 
In  the  one  is  a  passive  though  a  voluntary  obedience ;  in 
the  other,  an  independence  scornfiil  of  experience,  and 
jealous  of  all  authority.  These  two  tendencies,  appar- 
ently so  discrepant,  are  far  from  conflictmg ;  they  advance 
together,  and  mutually  support  each  other. 

Rehgion  perceives  that  civil  liberty  affords  a  noble  exer- 
cise to  the  faculties  of  man,  and  that  the  poHtical  world  is 
a  field  prepared  by  the  Creator  for  the  efforts  of  mind. 
Free  and  powerful  in  its  own  sphere,  satisfied  with  the 
place  reserved  for  it,  religion  never  more  surely  establishes 
its  empire  than  when  it  reigns  in  the  hearts  of  men  unsup- 
ported by  aught  beside  its  native  strength. 


OBIOm  OF  THE  ANGIO-AMEMOANS. 


divine  souT  rf  i^dai^"  "^^  "^.j''  »fi"cr.  "nd  the 
safeguard  of  mor^yZT'    ^V    "'"*'"  '*"«'<'»  ^  *« 

W.  an.  the  ^^r'^^.t  TCt:,^^^^-^^  "' 

condition,  theX-  n  Zt:  "  '""  ™'*-  '^''^  -<=^ 
grant,  nndonbtedlf  exCfatd  t  "'"  *'  ""'  ^'"'- 
destiny  of  their  new  ^tv  ^-"'^T  ""-"^  »»  *!•« 
not  found  a  state  of  ZT'  .  ^^^^^eless,  they  could 

selves:  no  „an  can It^r  f .h^" ^ "^  '""  *^'"- 
past;  and  the  settlers  !„t™,-      n  '""uence  of  the 

and  notions  deS^^  fo"^.  °°'^  ^  "•  ""''  ™"S'^'^  habits 
of  their  countr^  ^thT,*t'\^""'''^°»  »d  *e  traditions 
exclusively  th7r  !„  To  t  '  *"/  """°"'  "''''=''  ^^-^ 
AmericaJof  tieZ;„t^JTrr''  l"  '"^  *«  ^^g'- 
tinguish  what  is  »?  pS;a"'r:;^:7S7 '"  <^- 
Laws  and  customs  are  freonenrttT  i,  ^  *  ""S""- 
tlni.^.  States  which  Zn^ZtlZJlT^t  l"  ''' 
rounds  them.     T1ip<jp  low.  '^""SV  with  all  that  sur- 

contrary  to  the  prevIiW  T"  '"."^  '^""  "P  '"  »  ^P-it 
and  thi  cust^n^  irno^,,^""  l"'™''"  '^S^^'*"™  = 
of  society.  IfTe  eI'L  ,  "^^f.  *°  *«  S™'"'^  "»'« 
age  of  darkn^s  or  tf  X  ■"'  """^ ''"''"  '"'"•"''^'J  ™  an 

ana  cnminal  procedure  of  the  Americans  hS 

*  See  Appetuiix  F. 


J 


''       f 


56 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


only  two  means  of  action,  —  committal  or  bail.  The  first 
act  of  the  magistrate  is  to  exact  security  from  the  defend- 
ant, or,  in  case  of  refusal,  to  incarcerate  him :  the  ground 
of  the  accusation  and  the  importance  of  the  charges  against 
him  are  then  discussed. 

It  is  evident  that  such  a  legislation  is  hostile  to  the  poor, 
and  favorable  only  to  the  rich.  The  poor  man  has  not 
always  a  security  to  produce,  even  in  a  civil  case ;  and  if 
he  is  obliged  to  wait  for  justice  in  prison,  he  is  speedily 
reduced  to  distress.  A  wealthy  person,  on  the  contrary, 
always  escapes  imprisonment  in  civil  cases  ;  nay,  more, 
if  he  has  committed  a  crime,  he  may  readily  elude  punish- 
ment by  breaking  his  bail.  Thus  all  the  penalties  of  the 
law  are,  for  him,  reduced  to  fines.*  Nothing  can  be  more 
aristocratic  than  tliis  system  of  legislation.  Yet  in  America, 
it  is  the  poor  who  make  the  law,  and  they  usually  reserve 
the  greatest  advantages  of  society  to  themselves.  The  ex- 
planation of  the  phenomenon  is  to  be  found  in  England ; 
the  laws  of  which  I  speak  are  English,  and  the  Americans 
have  retained  them,  although  repugnant  to  the  general 
tenor  of  their  legislation  and  the  mass  of  their  ideas. 

Next  to  its  habits,  the  thing  which  a  nation  is  least  apt 
to  change  is  its  civil  legislation.  Civil  laws  are  famiUarly 
known  only  to  lawyers,  whose  direct  interest  it  is  to  main- 
tain them  as  they  are,  whether  good  or  bad,  simply  because 
they  themselves  are  conversant  with  them.  The  bulk  of 
the  nation  is  scarcely  acquainted  with  them ;  it  sees  their 
action  only  in  particular  cases,  can  with  difficulty  detect 
their  tendency,  and  obeys  them  without  thought. 

I  have  quoted  one  instance  where  it  would  have  been 
easy  to  adduce  many  others.  The  picture  of  American 
society  has,  if  I  may  so  speak,  a  surface-covering  of  de- 
mocracy, beneath  which  the  old  aristocratic  colors  some- 
times peep  out. 

*  Cfimea  no  doubt  exist  for  which  bail  is  inadmissible,  but  tliey  are  few 
in  number 


SOOm  0OND.T.OJ,  OF  THE  ANGLO-AMBWCAIIS.  67 


CHAPTER   III. 

SOCUL  CONDITION  OF  THE  ANGIO-AMEKIOANS. 

OOCIAL  condition,  is  commonly  the  result  nf    ■ 

^  ''«"«^-/<'»et!mes  of  laws,  oCer  IS]  !f  I'^T" 

causes  umted;  but  when  once  itahllw  v^  ^  *"" 

considered  as  itself  the  ZZT^ll' !   T^J-^''^  ^ 

nsages,  and  the  ideas  wWcTrelatrt,      '  "iT  '""='  *« 

»tudy  of  its  social  coS;n  "'  "'  ■""''  '^^'^  V  the 

The  first  Emigrants  of  New  England  -  Th^.V  v      ,• 

introduced  in  the  South.-Peld  oIZ^^'T'^-''^''''^'''  ^-• 
Laws  of  Inheritance. -EfFecroidL^Kl^^^  ^  *^« 

carried  to  its  utmost  LiJ^TSrlZ.  /  ^  Change.  -  Democn., 
Mental  Endowments.  "^  ®^*^  "^  *^«  ^««*-  -  EquaUtj  of 

one  which  takes  prldelt"    "luTr/  "V"-' -'l 
condition  of  the  AmpnVo^.  •  f  "^^^  socia 

-its  character  trZJItirS  "r""''''  *'^ 
»tai  more  strongly  marhed  a"  r^ln  4" "'"'  -"  '»  -^ 


H       ', 


n 


68 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


of  New  England.  Even  the  germs  of  aristocracy  were 
never  planted  in  that  part  of  the  Union.  The  only  influ- 
ence which  obtained  there  was  that  of  intellect ;  the  people 
were  used  to  reverence  certain  names  as  the  emblems  of 
knowledge  and  virtue.  Some  of  their  fellow-citizens  ac- 
quired a  power  over  the  others  which  might  truly  have 
been  called  aristocratic,  if  it  had  been  capable  of  trans- 
mission from  father  to  son. 

This  was  the  state  of  things  to  the  east  of  the  Hudson : 
to  the  southwest  of  that  river,  and  as  far  as  the  Floridaa, 
the  case  was  different.  In  most  of  the  States  situated  to 
the  southwest  of  the  Hudson  some  great  Enghsh  propri- 
etors had  settled,  who  had  imported  with  them  aristocratic 
principles  and  the  English  law  of  inheritance.  I  have 
explained  the  reasons  why  it  was  impossible  ever  to  es- 
tabhsh  a  powerful  aristocracy  in  America;  these  reasons 
existed  with  less  force  to  the  southwest  of  the  Hudson. 
In  the  South,  one  man,  aided  by  slaves,  could  cultivate  a 
great  extent  of  country ;  it  was  therefore  common  to  see 
rich  landed  proprietors.  But  their  influence  was  not  alto- 
gether aristocratic,  as  that  term  is  understood  in  Europe, 
since  they  possessed  no  privileges ;  and  the  cultivation  of 
their  estates  being  carried  on  by  slaves,  they  had  no  ten- 
ants depending  on  them,  and  consequently  no  patronage. 
Still,  the  great  proprietors  south  of  the  Hudson  constituted 
a  superior  class,  having  ideas  and  tastes  of  its  own,  and 
forming  the  centre  of  political  action.  This  kind  of  aris- 
tocracy sympathized  with  the  body  of  the  people,  whose 
passions  and  interests  it  easily  embraced ;  but  it  was  too 
weak  and  too  short-lived  to  excite  either  love  or  hatred. 
Tliis  was  the  class  which  headed  the  insurrection  in  the 
South,  and  furnished  the  best  leaders  of  the  American 
Revolution. 

At  this  period,  society  was  shaken  to  its  centre.     Tlie 
people,  in  whose  name  the  struggle  had  taken  place,  con- 


SOCIAL  CONDITION  OF  THE  ANGLO-A>IERICANS.  59 

ceived  the  desire  of  exercisino.  th^      .x.    . 

acquired;  its  democmtlcTenln      ^-thont^.  which  it  had 

having  thrown  off  ^^e  JST  Zl'  '"^^^^'^  ^' 
pired  to  independence  ofZelir^^^^  ''  ^ 

individuals  gradually  ce^ed  TnT  ^u      ?'  "'^"^'^^^  ^^ 
united  to  prfduce  tt  s^e  rel't'      '  "'  ^"^*^"  ^^^  ^- 

I  ^Z  Ifal^anT  ^'a  ^^^  ''''  ''  '^-'^y 
attributed  to  this  law  a   "Iri^r    "  'T""  ^^"^  "«* 

greater  influence  on  human  affairs.* 

owner.  The  law  of  entail  ^0?!?  nlr'"^  '^'  *«  ^^^'^  ^^^^ 
o^ner  from  disposing  of  his  possLo^  LT  V-  '"^'^^  P^^^'^*^  ^^^ 
^th  the  vie.  of  preserving  Te?  ^  ^^the  hL'^Ti;  '"  ^'  ^^  ^''^^'^ 
therefore,  of  the  law  of  cntaU,  is  to  tZallt^T^  '  P"""'?*^  ^^^''t, 

death  of  its  owner :  its  other  p^sioS^^  1     ,"""'  °'  ^"'P*'^  '^^  ^b« 

[We  have  had  one  modemTri  t  D^  T w t  "''"^  *'  *^«  «"^- 
TocqueviUe  in  pointing  out  tTe  orod '  ^'^f'^''''''''  ^^o  anticipated  De 
cal  aflair.,of  laws  reguLdng  the  trnurTa";  ."""'  "^^^  ^°^^^'  ^'^  ?<>"«- 
nation  delivered  at  Pl7mou!l^'C:r/;:  ^^Tw  r^"^'  ^  ^^« 
character  of  the  poUtical  inst^tution^nf  m  t  '  ^'  ^''''*'''  «^'*--  "The 
the  fundamental  Tws  res^^'^^^l^^  ^"^''^^  ""  '^^^""-^  ^^ 
of  the  right  of  primogeniture  the  cS  f'/°'^«'^t«d  the  aboUtion 
other  processes  for  fettSng  and  tvin.  T  "'  '°**"^'  ^""^  *^«t«.  and 

the  alienation  of  estates  Lughriltt  '"'  '''  "^""^  *^'^  ^- 
through  public  registries  and  the  sTmSl  of  ^  '''"^  ''''"''  ''  '''^• 
acts  which  "^«/  tl.e  future  JaLZTZ  IfZ  ™'  ''  "°^^^^-'  « 
sequence  of  aU  these  causes  "hTs^d  ^7  f  ^'^^'"«''-"  "  The  con- 
soil  and  a  great  equality  of  ^ondlZ  L  th"!  ^'°  ^  ^''  ^"'^^^•«''>°  «f  the 
popular  government."  '  ®  ^^'^'  ™ost  certainly,  of  a 

^^^'^r.t'::^^o:l:i^Z\T''  "°'^"  --P-^or^  an  equal  di- 
predict  that,  "if  the  goverl^^^nt  d  '  1^^^^^^  ^'  ''''''''  ^^'^^-^^  *« 
a  century.  wiU  change^he "«!  tT  *''  ''^"'  *^«  ^^-'  ''^  half 
of  the  power  of  the  crolL  Tome  P  ^  '''"^  "^"  °°*  ^  -  ^avor 
against  it."  '  ""  '^™^  ^"^P^an  writei.  have  supposed,  but 

^'^^C:^nS^i:'Z\^  ^•^^^'"^^^'  '''-''  -  ^"ed  first 
that  of  February.  1848  -rE^j'  "  '  ''"  ""^  ""'^^^  ^«^.  hy 


60 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


n 


It  is  true  that  these  laws  belong  to  civil  affairs  ;  but  they 
ought,  nevertheless,  to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  all  political 
institutions  ;  for  they  exercise  an  incredible  influence  upon 
the  social  state  of  a  people,  whilst  political  laws  only  show 
what  this  state  already  is.  They  have,  moreover,  a  sure 
and  uniform  manner  of  operating  upon  society,  affecting, 
as  it  were,  generations  yet  unborn.  Through  their  means, 
man  acquires  a  kind  of  preternatural  power  over  the  future 
lot  of  his  fellow-creatures.  When  the  legislator  has  once 
regulated  the  law  of  inheritance,  he  may  rest  from  his  la- 
bor. The  machine  once  put  in  motion  will  go  on  for  ages, 
and  advance,  as  if  self-guided,  towards  a  point  indicated 
beforehand.  When  framed  in  a  particular  manner,  this 
law  unites,  draws  together,  and  vests  property  and  power 
in  a  few  hands ;  it  causes  an  aristocracy,  so  to  speak,  to 
spring  out  of  the  ground.  If  formed  on  opposite  princi- 
ples, its  action  is  still  more  rapid ;  it  divides,  distributes, 
and  disperses  both  property  and  power.  Alarmed  by  the 
rapidity  of  its  progress,  those  who  despair  of  arresting  its 
motion  endeavor,  at  least,  to  obstruct  it  by  difficulties  and 
impediments.  They  vainly  seek  to  counteract  its  effect  by 
contrary  efforts ;  but  it  shatters  and  reduces  to  powder 
every  obstacle,  until  we  can  no  longer  see  anything  but  a 
moving  and  impalpable  cloud  of  dust,  which  signals  the 
coming  of  the  Democracy.  When  the  law  of  inheritance 
permits,  still  more  when  it  decrees,  the  equal  division  of  a 
father's  property  amongst  all  his  childi-en,  its  effects  are  of 
two  kinds :  it  is  important  to  distinguish  them  from  each 
other,  although  they  tend  to  the  same  end. 

In  virtue  of  the  law  of  partible  inheritance,  the  death  of 
every  proprietor  brings  about  a  kind  of  revolution  in  the 
property ;  not  only  do  his  possessions  change  hands,  but 
their  very  nature  is  altered,  since  they  are  parcelled  into 
shai'es,  which  become  smaller  and  smaller  at  each  division 
This  is  the  direct,  and  as  it  were  the  physical,  effect  of  the 


SOCIAI,   CONDITION   OF  THP    .»o.„ 

"   "*    THE  ANOIO-AMEBICANS.  gl 

'aw.    It  follows,  then  that  ;., 

inheritance  is  e;tabS,  a  L "an'""  "'"""  '^"^'''^  "^ 
'anded  property,  must  cotst  ^/S"^ ''"^-P-% 
smaller  and  smaller  parts  TK.  «•  .  '*'""»"  '"«■> 
legislation  would  only  tener J  ,  M  >  '"'^"^«'''  "^  ™«h 
■f  the  law  we.  abalt'd To'^  s'^f '  \!^P-  "^  '-«. 
I-.ng  the  family  to  consist  oVolTrit"^'  '''"•  ™P- 
a  country  peopled  as  France  s  2  ''™'  ^»"'''  ™ 

above  three,)  these  children  sh,  '™"^  """"^^  "  "»' 
fortune  of  both  parent  w^^I.f  ^'"°"^'  ""'»'  'he 
father  or  mother  '         "  ""'  '"'  P'^''^''  than  their 

But  the  law  of  phuq]  ^;  •  • 

.nerely  „p„n  the  p^lty  TS  IT^'l  '''  '""-»-  "<>' 
the  heirs,  and  brin^  S  L^"'?  ''"  "  »«'«'='»  the  minds  of 

-t  eonse,uenees"t„T;S;rt^;,    ^''"^ '■"«■ 
large  fortunes,  and  especfallyrf?!  °<,*^  .''-'"'"tio-  «f 

Among  nations  whose  law  of  dJcen.Tf      .  . 
the  nght  of  primogeniture,  landed  ttl^,    /"'  "P™ 
generation  to  generation  witW    ^       "'"  P^^  *<"» 
the  consequence  of  which  rtCf  IT?^  '""^'™'  - 
tain  deg,^  inc„,p„.  jtS  t    II^  't!''^  ^, »  <=- 
resents  the  estate,  the  estate  tLT   ,"         ^  '^■""^  ■*?* 
together  with  its  oriWn Tl      {"""''y- " «'l>ose  name, 
tnes,  is  thus  perpetaC  Z  ^  ^'  ""  P''^^''  '"d  it.  vir^ 
'■■^P-  and-;  sC:i^:--P^*"e  memorial  of 

law'Tt^nLr  r„tt  "'r^^'^'^  -^-«^"«>  o. 

f-%  and  the  pr™^::    ^  ^'^1^7 ""  ^"""^ 
property  ceases  to  represent  th/f    T    f    ''""^'   *e 
inevitably  be  divided  aC„„e  „/r^'  '^^'  "^  ''  """'t 
evidently  a  constant  tendency  to  dL    •",  ^"T"""''  '''  ■"" 
end  be  completely  dispe^ed      ^^  ™    ^^''' ""<•  n»>st  in  the 
ed  proprietir,  if^hey  Trf  few  in  ""  f  *^  ^reat  land- 
Wriends  them,  may  indl   !  .    ."™"'"'  "'  '^ '■°"™e 
-  wealthy  as  their  father  bl  not  T  "'^  '^^  "'  ^^"S 

'    "'  ""'  of  possessing  the  same 


.i 


I    l>::i| 


ijlh 


62 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


m 


property  that  he  did ;  their  riches  must  be  composed  of 
other  elements  than  his.  Now,  as  soon  aa  you  divest  the 
land-owner  of  that  interest  in  the  preservation  of  his  estate 
which  he  derives  from  association,  from  tradition,  and  from 
fomily  pride,  you  may  be  certain  that,  sooner  or  later,  he 
will  dispose  of  it ;  for  there  is  a  strong  pecuniary  interest 
in  favor  of  selling,  as  floating  capital  produces  higher  inter- 
est than  real  property,  and  is  more  readily  available  to 
gratiiy  the  passions  of  the  moment. 

Great  landed  estates  which  have  once  been  divided 
never  come  together  again ;  for  the  small  proprietor  draws 
from  his  land  a  better  revenue,  in  proportion,  than  the 
large  owner  does  from  his ;  and  of  course,  he  sells  it  at  a 
higher  rate.*  The  calculations  of  gain,  therefore,  which 
decide  the  rich  man  to  sell  his  domain,  will  still  more 
powerfully  influence  him  against  buying  small  estates  to 
unite  them  into  a  large  one. 

What  is  called  family  pride  is  often  founded  upon  an 
illusion  of  self-love.  A  man  wishes  to  perpetuate  and  im- 
mortalize himself,  as  it  were,  m  his  great-grandchildren. 
Where  family  pride  ceases  to  act,  mdividual  selfishness 
comes  into  play.  When  the  idea  of  family  becomes  vague, 
indeterminate,  and  uncertain,  a  man  thinks  of  his  present 
convenience ;  he  provides  for  the  establishment  of  his  next 
succeeding  generation,  and  no  more.  Either  a  man  gives 
up  the  idea  of  perpetuating  his  family,  or  at  any  rate,  he 
seeks  to  accomplish  it  by  other  means  than  by  a  landed 

estate. 

Thus,  not  only  does  the  law  of  partible  inheritance  ren- 
der it  difficult  for  families  to  preserve  their  ancestral  do- 
mains entire,  but  it  deprives  them  of  the  inclination  to 
attempt  it,  and  compels  them  in  some  measure  to  co-operate 

♦  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  email  proprietor  cultivates  his  land  better, 
but  he  cultivates  it  with  more  ardor  and  care  :  so  that  he  makes  up  by  his 
labor  for  his  want  of  skill. 


SOCUL  COKD,T.ON  OF  THE  .KGtO-.„KH,CAKS.  68 

thing.,  it  acta  upon  pe^" "  Z^' '  ^^  ""'"«  "P"" 
affects  things.  By  both  T  ^  '"""""'^■ng  Persons,  it 
striking  at  the  x^of  oftnded  n  "'T'  *^  '^"  ^''^^^O'  '" 
idly  both  families  .mZ^S"^''''  ""'»  ''■V^ing  n.p- 

changes  which^^lhrL'^p:^"-  •''^  ^.""''^'^  ™<'  »-'«' 
question  its  influence  It  ,W  !  "', ''"''«'"«  ">  P<^^>  to 
country.  ovenhroX  the  IK^"'  ^  ?"'""•"""'  "  »- 
moving  the  landmarks'  ^Ztlt  Z  ff  f ^'  ''"•'  ^ 
produced  great  effects  in  F™!,  T  ^""'"g''  i'  >»« 

it  to  do.     Our  reXL!      ^':  """^  ""'  '«»'^»  ^r 
powerful  obstacles  to  tpr;^^""""''  '^'^  ''*«'  P-ent 

In  the  United  StatP<j  iV  i, 
of  destruction,  andle;  Jl     "'^f^^  ^«°^P^«ted  its  work 
The  English  Ws  conceminTthr,    '''  -^'"'^  ^*^  ^-"^^- 
were  abolished  in  almost  Tf^    I  '"  '^  P^^P^^^^ 

Revolution.  The  Wof  ent^l'  '*"  '^  *^^  *™«  «'  the 
terially  to  interrupt  tie  LTof  '^'!. '"  '"'^^^^  ^  "^^  »«- 
first  generation  ha^^  ^1^^^^^  The 

parcelled   out;    and  le  chan.T^'  ''*'*''  ^'^'^  *^  ^« 
,    ana  the  change  became  more  and  more 

I-and  being  the  most  stable  kin^  of 
rich  individuals  who  are  disposed  to  make  ''"^'''^'  "'  '"''  '™™  *«  ^i'-e, 
it,  and  who  willing,,  forfeit  a^  n!i  :X^^^^^^^^^^  -  order  to  obtain' 

of  the  rest.  B„t  these  are  accidentaU^t^b/  T  "'°"'  ''  ""^^  -« 
ertyis  no  longer  found  habitually  in  1  .^^''''^'^^^^  ^o' landed  prop. 
™all  land-owner,  who  has  less  iXmaZ  C  '"'"^  *'^  P"^^"  Thl 
-ons  than  the  great  one,  is  geneml  ^0^  .  '"'^'^'^^'  and  fewer  pa*. 
'-  estate  :  and  it  often  happens  tT^bTT  "''  *'^  '^"'^  °^  '— ^ng 
^"ances  of  trad,  he  is  ^^^^^Z^^^T'  ''  ''^^^^'  ^  '^  ^^e 
t';e  tendency  which  leads  men  to  dT^de  t^  "'''"'•    ^^"^'  '^  "^^^^^ 

which  incites  them  to  add  to  them     Tht  '/  ""'"''''  ''''''  «^^  -^th-. 
vent  estates  fi.m  being  divided  ;rfr2r"'^'  "'"'  ''  ^"^^^^"^  ^°  P^- 
gr^at  tectorial  possessions,  certain^  ^  T:eMrer"'  T''  ^°  -'^^ 
t  See  Appendix  G.  ^^P  ^^^"^  »P  "» the  same  family. 


■  1 


-..mMimMMm^^Ui^ 


64 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


il 


rapid  with  the  progress  of  time.     And  now,  after  a  lapse 
of  a  little  more  than  sixty  years,  the  aspect  of  society  is 
totally  altered ;  the  families  of  the  great  landed  proprietors 
are  almost  all  commingled  with  the  general  mass.     In  the 
State  of  New  York,  which  formerly  contained  many  of 
these,  there  are  but  two  who  still  keep  their  heads  above 
the  stream ;  and  they  must  shortly  disappear.     The  sons 
of  these  opulent  citizens  have  become  merchants,  lawyers, 
or  physicians.     Most  of  them  have  lapsed  into  obscurity. 
The  last  trace  of  hereditary  ranks  and  distinctions  is  de- 
stroyed, —the  law  of  partition  has  reduced  all  to  one  level. 
I  do  not  mean  that  there  is  any  lack  of  wealthy  individ- 
uals in  the  United  States ;  I  know  of  no  country,  indeed, 
where  the  love  of  money  has  taken  stronger  hold  on  the 
affections  of  men,  and  where  a  profounder  contempt  is 
expressed  for  the  theory  of  the  permanent  equality  of 
property.      But  wealth  circulates  with   inconceivable  ra- 
pidity, and  experience  shows  that  it  is  rare  to  find  two 
succeeding  generations  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  it. 

This  picture,  which  may,  perhaps,  be  thought  to  be  over- 
charged, still  gives  a  very  imperfect  idea  of  what  is  taking 
place  in  the  new  States  of  the  West  and  Southwest.  At 
the  end  of  the  last  century,  a  few  bold  adventurers  began 
to  penetrate  into  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi;  and  tlfe 
mass  of  the  population  very  soon  began  to  move  in  that 
direction :  communities  unheard  of  till  then  suddenly  ap- 
peared in  the  desert.  States  whose  names  were  not  in 
existence  a  few  years  before,  claimed  their  place  in  the 
American  Union ;  and  in  the  Western  settlements  we  may 
behold  democracy  arrived  at  its  utmost  limits.  In  these 
States,  founded  oif-hand,  and  as  it  were  by  chance,  the 
inhabitants  are  but  of  yesterday.  Scarcely  known  to  one 
another,  the  nearest  neighbors  are  ignorant  of  each  other's 
history.  In  this  part  of  the  American  continent,  therefore, 
the  population  has  escaped  the  influence  not  only  of  great 


SOCIAL  CONDITION  OP  THE  ANGLO-AMMCANS.  65 

that  ^pee^Bie  Por:hie^:erwi;^:^;^r  .i'.^ 

remembrance  of  a  life  snonf  ;«  ^  •  ,  ^  ^^^ 

a  uie  spent  m  domg  good  beforo  th^it> 

of  the  same  uniformity.     I  do  not  believe  tliat  therell! 
countiy  m  the  world  where,  in  proportion  to  di    popl 
tion,  there  are  so  few  itmorant  anrf  of  ♦!,  Popuia- 

few  learned,  individuals     Pw"  ^'  '^"'^  *^"^"  «« 

At  fifteen,  they  enter  „pon  their  calling,  and  thus  tW 

education  generally  ends  ot  n,«  i  *'' 

B    erauy  ends  at  the  age  when  onra  begins.f 

•  This  was  an  exagsenited  statement  oven  when  n.  t„„       •„ 
thirty  years  ago.     But  -„„,  i„  ,he  Atlmi^ZZl       TocqueTtUe  wrote, 
the  Universities  and  of  seientiHe  ,1  r,  '     ™«''  ""  '"""™«  »' 

in  proportion  to  the  ^^aon  ^'^,7     "'°°'-  "^^  ""  <"^"' 

.-  w  'devoted  ::2sS  :ir  BoXr  '*-'  ^"•''°" 

mechanic  ttades,  it  i.  ^,  „  fo„^„  ^    bT,.t^™  ""'"'T'^'  '°  '^ 
W.o.n.orappr„nti<.hip  in  En.i.n/r.':^.^^;!^  1' 


i' 

f 

1 

f 

j 

'  ll 


66 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


Wliatever  is  done  afterwards  is  with  a  view  to  some  special 
and  lucrative  object ;  a  science  is  taken  up  as  a  matter  of 
business,  and  the  only  branch  of  it  which  is  attended  to  is 
such  as  admits  of  an  immediate  practical  application. 

In  America,  most  of  the  rich  men  were  formerly  poor ; 
most  of  those  who  now  enjoy  leisure  were  absorbed  in 
business  during  their  youth ;  the  consequence  of  which  is, 
that,  when  they  might  have  had  a  taste  for  study,  they  had 
no  time  for  it,  and  when  the  time  is  at  their  disposal,  they 
have  no  longer  the  inclination. 

There  is  no  class,  then,  in  America,  in  which  the  taste 
for  intellectual  pleasures  is  transmitted  with  hereditary  for- 
tune and  leisure,  and  by  which  the  labors  of  the  intellect 
are  held  in  honor.  Accordingly,  there  is  an  equal  want  of 
the  desire  and  the  power  of  application  to  these  objects. 

A  middling  standard  is  fixed  in  America  for  human 
knowledge.  All  approach  as  near  to  it  as  thc^  ..an ;  some 
as  they  rise,  others  as  they  descend.  Of  course,  a  multi- 
tude of  persons  are  to  be  found  who  entertain  the  same 
number  of  ideas  on  religion,  history,  science,  pohtical  econ- 
omy, legislation,  and  government.  The  gifts  of  intellect 
proceed  directly  from  God,  and  man  cannot  prevent  their 
unequal  distribution.  But  it  is  at  least  a  consequence  of 
what  we  have  just  said,  that  although  the  capacities  of 
men  are  different,  as  the  Creator  intended  they  should  be, 
Americans  find  the  means  of  putting  them  to  use  are  equal. 

In  America,  the  aristocratic  element  has  always  been 
feeble  from  its  birth ;  and  if  at  the  present  day  it  is  not 
actually  destroyed,  it  is  at  any  rate  so  completely  disabled, 
that  we  can  scarcely  assign  to  it  any  degree  of  influence 
on  the  course  of  affairs. 

a  general  rule,  children  of  the  poorest  parents  are  not  compelled  to  begin 
hard  labor  at  so  early  an  age  in  the  United  States  as  in  Great  Britain.  Da 
Tocqueville's  statement  is  confused,  because  he  does  not  sufficiently  indicate 
which  "  professions  "  or  "  callings  "  he  is  speaking  of.  —  Am.  Ed. 


POLITICAL     C 


S-'  *4!SffljsStt.*4.4«-S.^t.,, 


SOCIAL  CONDlnON  OF  THE  ANGLO-AMERICAKS.  67 

f«  1  1,  "        -^  '  ^y  events,  and  by  leo-islatJnn    oo 

to  have  become  not  onlv  r.^^^      •  r    '^gJsiation,  as 

«nd  even  .,e  .H.enee  „.  ..vM.,  irl:' ^ - 

equality  i„  poi„,  „f  fortuneTndt  e Z  ^  "•  ^r" 
vords,  more  eqnal  i„  their  stremrth  T  •  '  °'.''" 
conntryr  of  the  world  J-        ''^"S"''  *»"  ■"  any  other 

pr^serTed  the  rerelrne'e"  "'  '^'^  "'  ""'=''  '''^'-^  »- 


POLmcAL     CONSEQUENCES     OP    THE     anPT„     „ 

THU     .w^.„  SOCIAl    CONDITION     OF 

THE    ANGLO-AMERICANS. 

It  is  impossible  to  believe  tbat  eanallf^  «  'ii      . 

wiiere  else,    lo  conceive  of  men  rpninm;»«  f  ^ 

upon  a  single  point  vet  en  J      ^TT^  ^^^^^^^  unequal 

sion  of  his  rights,  or  ri-htrmT  I        '       T'  '"  P"''"*- 
For  nations  whicliare  a^h^^d  at'th!^  "^  '°  ""  °"" 

existence  as  the  AnglXerf    „f  itTth"^'/' ^""' 

Sttt:itt:ff--?s-^ 

to  the  other.  ""^  "'^  "'"^'^  consequences  us 

There  is,  in  fact,  a  manly  and  lawfnl  passion  for  equality 


i   >l 


-"■  ^.'A^'>'"?SM.U,lllL«l,IIU|l,^VMp|||ii||pp| 


68 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


which  incites  men  to  wish  all  to  be  powerful  and  honored. 
This  passion  tends  to  elevate  the  humble  to  the  rank  of  the 
great ;  but  there  exists  also  in  the  human  heart  a  depraved 
taste  for  equality,  which  impels  the  weak  to  attempt  to 
lower  the  powerful  to  their  own  level,  and  reduces  men  to 
prefer  equality  in  slavery  to  inequality  with  freedom.  Not 
that  those  nations  whose  social  condition  is  democratic 
naturally  despise  liberty;  on  the  contrary,  they  have  an 
instinctive  love  of  it.  But  liberty  is  not  the  chief  and 
constant  object  of  their  desires ;  equality  is  their  idol :  they 
make  rapid  and  sudden  eiForts  to  obtain  liberty,  and,  if  they 
miss  their  aim,  resign  themselves  to  their  disappointment ; 
but  nothing  can  satisfy  them  without  equality,  and  they 
would  rather  perish  than  lose  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  a  state  where  the  citizens  are  all 
nearly  on  an  equahty,  it  becomes  difficult  for  them  to  pre- 
serve their  independence  against  the  aggressions  of  power. 
No  one  among  them  being  strong  enough  to  engage  in  the 
struggle  alone  with  advantage,  nothing  but  a  general  com- 
bination can  protect  their  liberty.  Now,  such  a  union  is 
not  always  possible. 

From  the  same  social  position,  then,  nations  may  derive 
one  or  the  other  of  two  great  political  results ;  these  re- 
sults are  extremely  different  from  each  other,  but  they  both 
proceed  from  the  same  cause. 

The  Anglo-Americans  are  the  first  nation  who,  having 
been  exposed  to  this  formidable  alternative,  have  been 
happy  enough  to  escape  the  dominion  of  absolute  power. 
They  have  been  allowed  by  their  circumstances,  their  ori- 
gin, their  intelligence,  and  especially  by  their  morals,  to 
establish  and  maintain  the  sovereignty  of  the  people. 


SOVEREIGNTY     ;f   THE   PEOPLE. 


iS9 


>.    I 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  PBmoPLE  OP  THK  SOVEBEIGNX.  OF  THE  PEOPLE  D, 

AMERICA. 

W™If  !•  ""^  "f  ^"''^  '''^^  «^  *«  Exited  States 

into  the  gl„„:„  „f  the:::;:! J  ^    •  "  "  '""'^  ^"^^  """^ 

"  The  will  of  the  nation  "  is  one  of  those  phrases  whioh 
liave  been  most  aro-elv  abuwrl  Iw  ti,o  -i  ^"™^  ™ich 
of  every  age.  Sot^e  CI  V.  VS:!*^  -f- ""' " 
pu^ased  suff^ges  of  a  few  of  .herHtTst,'^::^^ 
oho«,  m  the  votes  of  a  timid  or  an  interested  minority 
a  a  ome  have  even  discovered  it  in  the  silence  ofTpeopfe' 
on  the  supposit  on   that  the  fanf  r.f  o  }     •    •  People, 

.l.e  right  to  command  "f  submission  established 

In  America,  the  principle  of  the  soverei-mtv  „f  .1. 
e...edb,theWs.itTl^fl;;— — -- 


L  "     lij. 


70 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


impediment  at  its  most  remote  consequences.  If  there  be 
a  country  in  the  world  where  the  doctrine  of  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  people  can  be  fairly  appreciated,  where  it 
can  be  studied  in  its  application  to  the  affairs  of  society, 
and  where  its  dangers  and  its  advantages  may  be  judged, 
that  country  is  assuredly  Ameiica. 

I  have  already  observed  that,  from  their  origin,  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  people  was  the  fundamental  principle  of 
most  of  the  British  colonies  in  America.  It  was  far,  how- 
ever, from  then  exercising  as  much  influence  on  the  gov- 
ernment of  society  as  it  now  does.  Two  obstacles  —  the 
one  external,  the  other  internal  —  checked  its  invasive 
progress. 

It  could  not  ostensibly  disclose  itself  in  the  laws  of  col- 
onies which  were  still  constrained  to  obey  the  mother 
country ;  it  was  therefore  obliged  to  rule  secretly  in  the 
provincial  assemblies,  and  especially  m  the  townships. 

American  society  at  that  time  was  not  yet  prepared  to 
adopt  it  with  all  its  consequences.  Intelligence  in  New 
England,  and  wealth  in  the  country  to  the  south  of  the 
Hudson,  (as  I  have  shown  in  the  preceding  chapter,)  long 
exercised  a  sort  of  aristocratic  influence,  which  tended  to 
keep  the  exercise  of  social  poAver  in  the  hands  of  a  few. 
Not  all  the  public  functionaries  were  chosen  by  popular 
vote,  nor  wer?  all  the  citizens  voters.  The  electoral  fran- 
chise was  everywhere  somewhat  restricted,  and  made  de- 
pendent on  a  certain  qualification,  which  was  very  low  in 
the  North,  and  more  considerable  in  the  South. 

The  American  Revolution  broke  out,  and  the  doctrine 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  came  out  of  the  townships, 
and  took  possession  of  the  State.  Every  class  was  enlisted 
in  its  cause ;  battles  were  fought  and  victories  obtained  for 
it ;  it  became  the  law  of  laws. 

A  change  almost  as  rapid  was  effected  in  the  interior  of 
society,  where  the  law  of  inheritance  completed  the  abo- 
lition of  local  influences. 


mm 


SOVEKEIGNTY  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  71 

beclLe'tr ret?*"'  °'  *^  '''"^  ^''  "'  *^  R-olutio„ 
became  apparent  to  every  eye,  victory  was  irrevocablv  nww 

nounced  m  favor  of  the  democratic  cLe.    AUp^wer  C 
■n  ikct,  ,„  .ts  hands,  and  resistance  was  no  longerTirbk' 
Tie  higher  ordm  submitted  without  a  murmra^d  wUh 
out  a  struggle  to  an  evU  which  was  thenceforTi^' ;^" 
Tne  ordmajy  &te  of  falling  powers  awaited  themT^h  if 
then:  members  foUowed  his  own  interest;  and  asTwal 
impossible  to  wring  the  power  fi-on,  tl,.  1,    7\ 
whom  they  did  „o1  det^tTmtLLy  itate  1^'^ 
aim  was  to  seem,  its  good-will  at  iy  price      ThTmS 
democratic  laws  were  consequently  voted  by  the  veA  men 
whose  mterests  fliey  impaired:  L  thusf  ^^.^I^h: 
higher  classes  did  not  excite  the  passions  of  thT  peol 
agamst  their  order,  they  themseIvS  accelerated  t'eri 
umph  of  the  new  state  of  thin<rs  ■  so  th«t  W  !    •       . 

sistible  m  the  very  States  where  the  aristocracy  had  the 
firmest  hold.  The  State  of  Maryland,  which  Wbl 
founded  by  men  of  rank,  was  the  first  to  proclaim  uniW 

n1ohtllrl;r  *"••"<=«  *«  •»-'  dLocratlcTIs 
mto  tne  wliole  of  its  government. 

When  a  nation  begins  to  modify  the  elective  ouaUfica 
t.on,  It  may  easily  be  foreseen  that'  sooner  or  Iter  tha 
quahfimion  wiU  be  entirely  abolished.  There  is  "e 
nvanable  rule  in  the  history  of  society:  the  further TC 
toral  rights  are  extended,  the  greater  is  the  neerofSt^nT 
■ng  *em;  for  after  each  concession  the  strengA  rf  t 

strength.  The  ambition  of  those  who  are  below  the  an- 
pomted  rate  IS  irritated  in  exact  proportion  te  The  great 
number  of  those  who  are  above  it.     The  exception  afl!! 

tr::  f  ™^  r"^-"  ^'""'-  eoncSCani'r 

stop  can  be  made  short  of  universal  suffrage.* 

•  See  Appendix  H. 


t  I 


^;   t 


72 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


At  the  present  day  the  principle  of  the  sovereignty  of 
the  people  has  acquired,  in  the  United  States,  all  the  prac- 
tical development  which  the  imagination  can  conceive. 
It  is  unencumbered  by  those  fictions  which  are  thrown 
over  it  in  other  countries,  and  it  appears  in  every  possible 
form,  according  to  the  exigency  of  the  occasion.  Some- 
times the  laws  are  made  by  the  people  in  a  body,  as  at 
Athens ;  and  sometimes  its  representatives,  chosen  by  uni- 
versal suffrage,  transact  business  in  its  name,  and  under  its 
immediate  supervision. 

In  some  countries,  a  power  exists  which,  though  it  is  in 
a  degree  foreign  to  the  social  body,  directs  it,  and  forces  it 
to  pursue  a  certain  track.  In  others,  the  ruling  force  is 
divided,  being  partly  within  and  partly  without  the  ranks 
of  the  people.  But  nothing  of  the  kind  is  to  be  seen  in 
the  United  States ;  there  society  governs  itself  for  itself. 
All  power  centres  in  its  bosom ;  and  scarcely  an  individual 
is  to  be  met  with  who  would  venture  to  conceive,  or,  still 
less,  to  express,  the  idea  of  seeking  it  elsewhere.  The 
nation  participates  in  the  making  of  its  laws  by  the  choice 
of  its  legislators,  and  in  the  execution  of  them  by  the 
choice  of  the  agents  of  the  executive  government ;  it  may 
almost  be  said  to  govern  itself,  so  feeble  and  so  restricted 
is  the  share  left  to  the  administration,  so  little  do  the  au- 
thorities forget  their  popular  origin  and  the  power  from 
which  they  emanate.  The  people  reign  in  the  American 
poKtical  world  as  the  Deity  does  in  the  universe.  They 
are  the  cause  and  the  aim  of  all  things  ;  everything  comes 
from  them,  and  everything  is  absorbed  in  them. 


^mmmsmmmm 


EXA«mATiOH  OP  THE  CONDITION  OF  THE  STATES.       73 


CHAPTER   V. 

Il^thrr"*  ?  ''''*""'• "  *«  '■*™g  chapter,  what 
fiJ  the  comix  nlw  of  7h  "^■'=\P'-»'^  i«  aAes 

States,  which'coirs;":;i't^:~r;'  *^  ^""^ 

iiecte^  nnr]  oc  V  oistinct  social  structures,  con- 

nected, and,  as  it  were,  encased  one  within  thp  ^fV,        . 

exceptional  authoritr^er  I  '  ^     f^  '^'^''"^  '^ 
country.     In  short,  tUl  tleSXlT  °'  *' 

United  States  wTthe  ^^ J^^^^^^  Government  of  the 


^ 


74 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


whole,  before  he  had  explained  its  details,  would  necessa- 
rily fall  into  obscurity  and  repetition. 

The  great  political  principles  which  now  govern  Ameri-i 
can  society  undoubtedly  took  their  origin  and  their  growth 
in  the  State.  We  must  know  the  State,  then,  in  order  to 
gam  a  clew  to  the  rest.  The  States  which  now  compose 
the  American  Union  all  present  the  same  features,  as  far  as 
regards  the  external  aspect  of  then*  institutions.  Their 
political  or  administrative  hfe  is  centred  in  three  focuses 
of  action,  which  may  be  compared  to  the  different  nervous 
centres  which  give  motion  to  the  human  body.  The  town- 
ship is  the  first  in  order,  then  the  coimty,  and  lastly  the 
State. 


THE    AMERICAN    SYSTEM    OF    TOWNSHIPS.* 

Why  the  Author  begins  the  Examination  of  the  Political  Institutions  with 
the  Township.  —  Its  Existence  in  all  Nations.— Difficulty  of  establishing 
and  preserving  Municipal  Independence.  —  Its  Importance.  —  Why  the 
Author  has  selected  the  Township  System  of  New  England  as  the  main 
Topic  of  his  Discussion. 

It  is  not  undesignedly  that  I  begin  this  subject  with  the 
Township.  The  village  or  township  is  the  only  association 
which  is  so  perfectly  natiu*al,  that,  wherever  a  number  of 
men  are  collected,  it  seems  to  constitute  itself. 

The  town  or  tithing,  then,  exists  m  all  nations,  whatever 
their  laws  and  customs  may  be :  it  is  mail  who  makes  mon- 
archies and  establishes  republics,  but  the  township  seems  to 

«  It  is  by  this  periphrasis  that  I  attempt  to  render  the  French  expressions 
Commune  and  Systeme  Communed.  I  am  not  aware  that  any  English  word 
precisely  corresponds  to  the  general  term  of  the  original.  In  France,  every 
association  of  human  dwellings  forms  a  commune,  and  every  commune  is  gov- 
erned by  a  Maire  and  a  Conseil  municipal.  In  other  words,  the  mancipium, 
or  municipal  privilege,  which  belongs,  in  England,  to  chartered  corporations 
alone,  is  alike  extended  to  every  (immune  into  which  the  cantons  and  depar^ 
ments  were  divided  at  the  Revolution.     Thence  the  different  application  of 


.  immmmatm.muimi>imit: 


TOWNSHIPS   AND  MUNICIPAL   BODIES.  75 

come  directly  from  the  hand  of  God      But  «hl.       1    .u 

tlieir  talents,  if  not  by  their  hal.if,    '    '7'"'''  '"'«<'  V 
affairs.     Tl.e  tow„shi,f  In  Tl  '  '*  *''^""'»  »'' 

coarser  materi'Z  w     hrtsTtrVl- ^ir  f 
legislator.     Tl>o  diffieulty  of  estabiS  'f  T     ^?  **"= 

S:  :;r:e;t  '■f fr ?  --« 

hardly  tolerate  7 '^  I      'I'S"^/'""'^^'!  community  can 

ment,  and  thev  cannnf  a^p  ^  !l  enterprising  govern- 
unle.;  theya^fiaZ^thVeTn:^::  ^T' 
and  supported  by  public  opinion.     C„ma  th  "T 

.on  st;ei'\h:i;rtri;t„ti' '  °t  -^ " 

.I.CSC  of  the  So„,hcm"  ,11!.      ,  "f  "''■  "^  '•"''''«'  '»«>  '"""■Wp'. 

in.  .he  „a«  of  c^i^  :':=:*  *irr  r^"-  '^- 

expressions  to  render  the  t^^vL  ^  t         ^"  ^PP'^  ^^''^^  several 

«n„...  ta  E^irwoT^TXLJrr  T'":''  -"-«■• 

it  denotes  the  limits  over  wh.Vh  «  ,y  *^  *«  ecclesiastical  division, 

^^nus,  Hghts  extend T;^:^;;:^.^---  -^^"^^  -  Perhaps  ^ 


76 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


peculiar  circumstances,  and,  above  all,  time,  may  consoli« 
date  it ;  but  there  is  certainly  no  nation  on  the  continent 
of  Europe  which  has  experienced  its  advantages.  Yet  mu- 
nicipal institutions  constitute  the  strength  of  free  nations. 
Town-meetings  are  to  liberty  what  primary  schools  are  to 
science ;  they  bring  it  within  the  people's  reach,  they  teach 
men  how  to  use  and  how  to  enjoy  it.  A  nation  may  estab- 
lish a  free  government,  but  without  municipal  institutions, 
it  cannot  have  the  spirit  of  hberty.  Transient  passions, 
the  interests  of  an  hour,  or  the  chance  of  circumstances, 
may  create  the  external  forms  of  independence ;  but  the 
despotic  tendency  wliich  has  been  driven  into  the  interior 
of  the  social  system,  will,  sooner  or  later,  reappear  on  the 
surface. 

To  make  the  reader  understand  the  general  principles 
on  which  the  political  organization  of  the  counties  and 
townships  in  the  United  States  rests,  I  have  thought  it 
expedient  to  choose  one  of  the  States  of  New  England  as 
an  example,  to  examine  in  detail  the  mechanism  of  its 
constitution,  and  then  to  cast  a  general  glance  over  the 
rest  of  the  countiy. 

The  township  and  the  county  are  not  organized  in  the 
same  manner  in  every  part  of  the  Union ;  it  is  easy  to 
perceive,  however,  that  nearly  the  same  principles  have 
guided  the  formation  of  both  of  them  throughout  the 
Union.  I  am  inchned  to  beheve  that  these  principles 
have  been  carried  further,  and  have  produced  greater 
results,  in  New  England  than  elsewhere.  Consequently, 
they  stand  out  there  in  higher  relief,  and  offer  greater 
fecUities  to  the  observations  of  a  stranger. 

The  township  institutions  of  New  England  form  a  com- 
plete and  regular  whole  ;  they  are  old ;  they  have  the 
support  of  the  laws,  and  the  still  stronger  support  of  the 
manners  of  the  community,  over  which  they  exercise  a 
prodigious  influence.  For  all  these  reasons,  they  deserve 
our  special  attention. 


■  <<»'«'^i*'i'<ii»mmm*v,mt.>Mm0mmim».>>f!ig 


TOWNSHIPS  AND  MUNICIPAL  BODIES. 


7T 


LIMITS   OP  THE  TOWNSHIP. 

The  township  of  New  England  holds  a  middle  place  be- 
tween the  commune  and  the  canton  of  France      It,  Z> 
popu  ation  is  fro.  two  to  three  thousr^d    •  si  that't 
not   o  large,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  interests  of  its    n 
hahtants  would  be  likely  to  conflict,  and  no   L  S  on 
the  other,  but  that  men  capable  of  conductinritTlff  - 
may  always  be  found  among  its  citizens  ^   ^  ''^"" 

POWERS   OF   the   township   IX  NEW   ENGLAND. 

The  People  the  Source  of  all  Power  in  th«  Tn^  ».• 

A-Mty  „M  ■„  ,he  Selectmen  -HoTLlaTt:  ^™*'  '^^  "  "■» 

ATfiPfinn.       T?  *"®  oelectmen  act. Town 

Meeting. -Enumeration  of  the  Officers  of  the  Townshin        nw    . 
and  remunerated  Functions.  ^o^^iup.  —  Obhgatorv 

In  the  township,  as  well  as  everywhere  else  thp  n.n^i 
are  the  source  of  power;  but  nowhe^doThey  ^^^^^^^^^^^ 
power  more  immediately.     In  Amerirp   fhJ       T! 

«    *!^''™™'='*'  *e  system  of  represfntat™ 

e™^^  tht"^  It  '^  magistrates,  directs  the^  i„ 
T^^VTZ^^f ''":''''  -0  ordinal  execution 

.«h  „™hip.  fs^^htf oreMo"^n;:::r  t  '-"^""^ » 

1~  thm  600.  -Xh.  Eb.]  -Aabitols  each,  ,md  «,m.  h.« 

•  Th.  .«..  „u«  .re  no.  .ppHcb,,  „  .1.  ,«,,  „^  ^^^  ^  ^ 


1.1  il 


i| 


■'i'    i 


;^ 


78 


DEMOCRACY   .'N   AMERICA. 


This  state  of  things  is  so  contrary  to  our  ideas,  and 
so  different  from  our  customs,  that  I  must  furnish  some 
oxamples  to  make  it  intelHgible. 

The  pubhc  duties  in  the  townsliip  are  extremely  niimei^ 
0U8,  and  minutely  divided,  as  we  shall  see  farther  on  ;  but 
most  of  the  administrative  power  is  vested  in  a  few  y  er- 
sons,  chosen  annually,  called  "  the  Selectmen."  * 

The  general  laws  of  the  State  impose  certain  duties  on 
the  selectmen,  which  they  may  fulfil  without  the  authority 
of  their  townsmen,  but  which  they  can  neglect  only  on 
their  own  responsibility.     The  State  law  requires  them,  for 
instance,  to  draw  up  the  list  of  voters  in  their  townships  ; 
and  if  tliey  omit  this  duty,  they  are  guilty  of  a  misde- 
meanor.    In  all  the  affairs,  however,  which  are  voted  in 
town-meeting,  the  selectmen  carry  into  effect  the  popi.  lar 
mandate,  as  in  France  the  Maire  executes  the  decree  of 
the  municipal  council.     They  usually  act  upon  their  own 
responsibility,  and  merely  put  in  practice  principles  which 
have  been  previously  recognized  by  the  majority.     But  if 
they  wish  to  make  any  change  in  the  existing  state  of 
things,  or  to  undertake  any  new  enterprise,  they  must  re- 
fer to  the  source  of  their  power.     If,  for  instance,  a  school 
is  to  be  established,  the  selectmen  call  a  meeting  of  the 
voters   on  a  certain   day,  at   an   appointed  place.     They 
explain  the  urgency  of  the  case  ;  they  make  known  the 
means  of  satisfying  it,  the  probable  expense,  and  the  site 
which  seems  to  be  most  favorable.     The  meeting  is  con- 
mayor,  and  a  corporation  divided  into  two  bodies  ;  this,  however,  is  an  ex- 
ception wliich  requires  the  sanction  of  a  law.  —  See  the  Act  of  the  22d 
February,  1822,  regulating  the  powers  of  the  city  of  Boston.     It  frequently 
happens  that  small  towns,  as  well  as  cities,  are  subject  to  a  peculiar  adminis- 
tration.    In  1832,  104  townships  in  the  State  of  New  York  were  governed 
in  this  manner.  —  Williams's  Register. 

*  Three  selectmen  are  appointed  in  the  small  townships,  and  nine  in  the 
large  ones.  —  See  "  The  Town  Officer,"  p.  186.  See  also  the  Revised  Stat 
ates  of  Massachusetts. 


TOWNSHIPS  AND  MUNICIPAL   BODIES. 


here  undertake  to  iud<re  them  n.  tl      i     >  ''''  ""' 

causes   by  wl.ich  tW  1         i     T""*  ''"°"'"  "«'  »^"« 
only  dese'^ibe  "hen!  '^  ""  •'^°'"'=^''  -<>  '"-"'--ed.    I 

The   selectmen  are  electpfl   A.ro»^, 
of  March  or  April      Thit  ^  ^'"'  '"  *'  '"™"' 
same  time  a  lilTtlde  o/o  ^r  "Tffie    ""\"  ""^ 
intrusted  with  important  admSstZe tncH^n:'""  T^ 

^p;:rrihrs:L^-xr£i 

«  of  eanying  oT  p^^r 'ct^tt''^ ''™™'' 
appointor  to  attend  to  the  schooLa'nd  n™  ^'"'"  "'' 
and  the  survivor,     f  I.^  T  ™  P"**''"  ""struction ; 

weights  and  measures.*  ^    ^* 

*  AH  these  magistrates  actually  exist  •  thai.  «i-«5. 
detailed  in  a  book  called  "  The  To^  Offi       '  k^         "^"'^'""^  "*  '^ 
-ter.  1827,)  and  in  the  RevisL  s'u^     '      '  '^"'^  ^°'^^°'  <^- 


IH 


80 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


There  are,  in  all,  nineteen  principal  offices  in  a  township. 
Every  inhabitant  is  constrained,  on  the  pain  of  being  fined, 
to  undertake  these  different  functions  ;  which,  however,  are 
almost  all  paid,  m  order  that  the  poorer  citizens  may  give 
time  to  them  without  loss.*  In  general,  each  official  act 
has  its  price,  and  the  officers  are  remunerated  in  proportion 
to  what  they  have  done. 


imTT"' 


LIFE   IN    THE   TOWNSHIP. 

Every  one  the  beat  Judge  of  his  own  Interest.  —  Corollary  of  the  Princi- 
pie  of  the  Sovereignty  of  the  People.  —  Application  of  these  Doctrines 
in  the  Townships  of  America.  —  The  Township  of  New  England  is  Sov- 
ereign in  all  that  concerns  itself  alone,  and  Subject  to  the  State  in  all 
other  Matters.  —  Duties  of  the  Township  to  the  State.  —  In  France,  the 
Government  lends  its  Agents  to  the  Commune.  —  In  America,  it  is  the 
reverse. 

I  HAVE  already  observed,  that  the  principle  of  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  people  governs  the  whole  political  system 
of  the  Anglo-Americans.  Every  page  of  this  book  will 
afford  new  applications  of  the  same  doctrine.  In  the  na- 
tions by  which  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  is  recognized, 
every  individual  has  an  equal  share  of  power,  and  partici- 
pates equally  in  the  government  of  the  state.  Why,  then, 
does  he  obey  the  government,  and  what  are  the  natural 
limits  of  this  obedience?  Every  individual  is  always  sup- 
posed to  be  as  well  informed,  as  virtuous,  and  as  strong  as 
any  of  his  fellow-citizens.  He  obeys  the  government,  not 
because  he  is  inferior  to  those  who  conduct  it,  or  because 
he  is  less  capable  than  any  other  of  governing  himself; 
but  because  he  acknowledges  the  utility  of  an  association 
with  his  fellow-men,  and  he  knows  that  no  such  associatioK 
can  exist  without  a  regulating  force.     He  is  a  subject  in  all 

•  This  is  an  error  :  most  of  them  are  performed  gratuitously ;  and  when 
pay  i»  given,  it  is  so  small  as  to  be  almost  nominal.  —  Am.  Ed.  ^ 


TOWNSHIPS  AND  MUNICIPAL  BODIES.  81 

that  concerns  the  duties  of  citizens  to  each  other  •  he  is  W 
and  responsible  to  God  alone  for  all  tW  !  J      ?' 

Hence  a,n,P«  th^         •       ,     '  *^^*  concerns  himseE 

iudr  Jr  ™'  '^"*  "^"^  ^'^^  ^«  th«  best  and  sole 

judge  of  his  own  pnvate  interest,  and  that  society  has  no 
r#t  to  control  a  man's  actions,  unless  they  are  preiul^al 

^s  hti;",^';^  "^^^^  ^^^  common^eal'dlmtd 
ms  help       This  doctnne  is  universally  admitted  in  the 

I  a»  now  speaHng  'JZZ^^^'^Zl  "  "^  '^''^ 
liie  township,  taken  as  a  whole,  and  in  relation  t„  .>,. 
central  government,  is  only  an  inM  J,  lit ^  othe 
to  whom  the  theoty  I  have  just  descriM  is  appfeabk 
Mumapal  mdependence  in  the  United  States  is,d 
a  natural  consequence  of  this  very  princinle  of  t^ 
ereignty  of  the  neonle      All  fi,    Y  P  ."'^'P'^  "*  *"«  so^- 
?    •^^  people.    All  the  American  republics  rec 

ogn,^  1    more  or  less;  but  circumstances  have  p«>^X 
favored  its  growth  m  New  England  peculiarly 

In  this  part  of  the  Union,  political  hfe  had  its  origin  i„ 
the  townships;  and  it  may  ahnost  be  said  that  S  o" 
hem  ong,naUy  formed  an  independent  nation.     WhtTt^e 
fangs  of  England  afterwards  asserted  their  supremacytht 

TW  "el'T  *r^"''''  power Vt^;*S^ 
iney  left  the  townships  where  they  were  before  •  and 
although  they  are  now  subject  to  the  state,  ^ry'wTr^ 
not  at  first,  or  were  hardly  so.  They  did  not  reciv! 
Aeir  powers  from  the  central  authority^  but,  oTthe  cT 

s^'  Ss''™  "P  ^  P""""  "'  *-  "d'ependenc:  o  I 
Zr.  r^  '"  ""P'"^'  distinction,  and  one  which 
the  reader  must  constantly  recollect.     The  township7a^e 

S^sM  f  "'^  ""/"^  r  °"'^  '"  'hosetferel 

oth  t     Thl  f       r^'-r  ""'y  "^  ^""""^  to  ^'  the 
others.    They  are  mdependent  in  all  that  concerns  them- 

eh-es  alone ;  and  amongst  the  inhabitants  of  New  E^gS 

I  beheve  that  not  a  man  is  to  be  found  who  would  acCt 


82 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


affairs. 


t  the  state  has  any  right  to  interfere  in  their  town 
The  towns  of  New  England  buy  and  sell,  prose- 
cute or  are  indicted,  augment  or  diminish  their  rates,  and 
no  administrative  authority  ever  thinks  of  offering  any 
opposition. 

There  are  certain  social  duties,  however,  which  they  are 
bound  to  fulfil.  If  the  State  is  in  need  of  money,  a  town 
cannot  withhold  the  supplies  ;  if  the  State  projects  a  road, 
the  township  cannot  refuse  to  let  it  cross  its  territory ;  if  a 
police  regulation  is  made  by  the  State,  it  must  be  enforced 
by  the  town ;  if  a  uniform  system  of  public  instruction  is 
enacted,  every  town  is  bound  to  establish  the  schools  which 
the  law  ordains.  When  I  come  to  speak  of  the  administra- 
tion of  the  laws  in  the  United  States,  I  shall  point  out  how, 
and  by  what  means,  the  townships  are  compelled  to  obey  in 
these  different  cases  :  I  here  merely  show  the  existence  of 
the  obligation.  Strict  as  this  obligation  is,  the  government 
of  the  State  imposes  it  in  principle  only,  and  in  its  per- 
formance the  township  resumes  all  its  independent  rights. 
Thus,  taxes  are  voted  by  the  State,  but  they  are  levied  and 
collected  by  the  township ;  the  establishment  of  a  school  is 
obligatory,  but  the  township  builds,  pays,  and  superintends 
it.  In  France,  the  state  collector  receives  the  local  im- 
posts ;  in  America,  the  town  collector  receives  the  taxes  of 
the  State.  Thus  the  French  government  lends  its  agents 
to  the  commune;  in  America,  the  township  lends  its  agents 
to  the  government.  This  fact  alone  shows  how  widely  the 
t\vo  nations  differ. 


SPIRI 

How  the  Tow; 
—  Difficuli 
and  Duties 
Attachmen 
Now  Engla 

In  Ameri 

are  kept  ali^ 

ship   of  Ne 

strongly  exc 

pendence  an 

within  that  s 

pendence  ale 

and  popuIati( 

It  is  to  bt 

generally  tur 

in  a  conquei 

to  his  townsl 

but  because  i 

is  a  member, 

aging  it.     In 

a  fi-equent  si 

every  one  agr 

and  tranquillil 

If  the  munici] 

dent,  it  is  fear 

expose  the  stai 

dependence,  a 

have  no  activ 

the  township  c 

tlie  warmest   « 

ambitious  passi 

the  county  ai't 

*  TJiis  is  a  mi 


TOWNSHIPS  AND  MUNICIPAI,  BODIE& 
SPIRIT   OP   THE  TOWNSHIPS    OB-  NEW   BNOLA„^. 


I'   J  { 


83 


-  Du,.  of  .,„  A.e^ jr^j*  f  ™  »  ,^7^- -  ^-^  Bi,h„ 
AttachmeDi  in  the  Uniiod  Statt,  _hZt  .^  ~  °™'°"°«^ 
New  Engtad.  -  I„  happy  E^.  *■""'  •''°"'  "^  i° 

are  kept  ^,ve  and  supported,  by  town  spirit.     The  town 
M>  of  New  England  possesses  two  advanta^s    iT t 
strongly  e.eite  the  interest  of  mankind  -S;  t^t 
pendence  and  authority.     Its  sphere  is  li^itedXdtk    bt 
within  that  sphere,  its  action  is  unrestrained      Tl-    ,      \ 

expose  the  state  to  anarchy      Ypt  w.M,     .         ^rrong  and 

the  township  of  NewE;/  .  '"''"''"'"'  ^'"-  '''  *«* 

Msnip  ot  JN  ew  England  is  so  constituted  as  to  exclt, 

'he  county  ai.  not  elected,*  and  their  authority  is  ve^ 

•  Th»i.a„,i,«.,  .b.,.rocho™b,p„p„|„,,„,_^  j,„ 


84 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


m 


':  .:i'! 


^if 


limited.  Even  the  State  is  only  a  second-rate  community 
whose  tranquil  and  obscure  administration  offers  no  induce- 
ment sufficient  to  draw  men  away  from  the  home  of  their 
interests  into  the  turmoil  of  public  affairs.  The  Federal 
Government  confers  power  and  honor  on  the  men  who  con- 
duct it ;  but  these  individuals  can  never  be  very  numerous. 
The  high  station  of  the  Presidency  can  only  be  reached  at 
an  advanced  period  of  life ;  and  the  other  Federal  function- 
aries of  a  high  class  are  generally  men  who  have  been 
favored  by  good  luck,  or  have  been  distinguished  in  some 
other  career.  Such  cannot  be  the  permanent  aim  of  the 
ambitious.  But  the  township,  at  the  centre  of  the  ordi- 
nary relations  of  life,  serves  as  a  field  for  the  desire  of  pubUc 
esteem,  the  want  of  exciting  interest,  and  the  taste  for  au- 
thority and  popularity  ;  and  the  passions  which  commonly 
embroil  society  change  their  character,  when  they  find  a 
vent  so  near  the  domestic  hearth  and  the  family  circle. 

In  the  American  townships,  power  has  been  disseminated 
with  admirable  skill,  for  the  purpose  of  interesting  the 
greatest  possible  number  of  persons  in  the  common  weal. 
Independently  of  the  voters,  who  are  from  time  to  time 
called  into  action,  the  power  is  divided  among  innumerable 
functionaries  and  officers,  who  all,  in  their  several  spheres, 
represent  the  powerful  community  in  whose  name  they  act. 
The  local  administration  thus  affords  an  unfailing  source 
of  profit  and  interest  to  a  vast  number  of  individuals. 

The  American  system,  which  divides  the  local  authority 
among  so  many  citizens,  does  not  scruple  to  multiply  the 
functions  of  the  town  officers.  For  in  the  United  States, 
it  is  believed,  and  with  truth,  that  patriotism  is  a  kind  of 
devotion  which  is  strengthened  by  ritual  observance.  In 
this  manner,  the  activity  of  the  township  is  continually  per- 
ceptible ;  it  is  daily  manifested  in  the  fulfilment  of  a  duty, 
or  the  exercise  of  a  right ;  and  a  constant  though  gentle 
motion  is  thus  kept  up  in  society,  which  animates  without 


TOWNSHIPS  AND  MUNICIPAL  BODIES.  86 

disturbing  i,      The  American  attaches  himself  to  his  Uttle 

2X.'.5rr —'-'".  ■•™--=: 

The  existence  of  the  townships  of  New  Fn„l     i  •     • 
Seneral,  a  harniv  nr.»      Ti.  ■       "^  iingland  is,  m 

testes    Lml  1         t     ^       government  is  suited  to  their 
tastes,  and  chosen  by  themselves.    I„  the  midst  of  the 
profound  peace  and  general  comfort  which  ™Vn1n  aJ 
■ca,  the  commotions  of  municinal  life  .T    T^  "' 

conduct  of  local  business™  eTsy  Trnn^^r,''  ^"^ 
of  the  people  has  long  been  cip  J  ^^S  ^t^  U 
was  complete  when  the  people  first  set  foot'^u'orthe  li 

li=tVf::t:in:r-^»^S'-= 

prevails      If  tVp  1  t  ^^"'"^^  contentment  which 

Drotec'ino-  snpll  nf  ,  ^"'  *^'^  *^^<^  casts  the 

.and  formerly  govemed'thtmr*      e^Xl  "but'':f 
people  was  always  sovereim,  in  ,h„  1       , "      ' ,       *''^ 

ndeisnot  only  aLncient,!:.t':ii:S:  '^"^'^  "^ 

JutrLinCe::eft"f!r;V'  t'-'  *-  '"^  '---'^ 

affai:,  insures  X  attachment  tr^"-'""'''''^'""  '"  "^ 

-g  it  a«brds  Him  secttrir  ai:ro;::riL  :i:t 

i^anltr      °"  ""■*  "^'■'■^  fi""- e-rtions.     He 

"i  g"\emment  in  the  small  sphere  within  lilc  ^«o  i 
he  accustoms  himself  to  those  fonns'withou   whic^  S 
-n  only  advance  by  revolutions;  he  imbibes  ttfr  spSl, 


)         =■ 


86 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


he  acquires  a  txiste  for  order,  comprehends  the  balance  of 
powers,  and  collects  clear  practical  notions  on  the  nature 
of  his  duties  and  the  extent  of  his  rights. 


■    Sij 


THE   COUNTIES    OF   NEW   ENGLAND. 

The  division  of  the  counties  in  America  has  considerable 
analogy  with  that  of  the  arrondisaements  of  France.  The 
limits  of  both  are  arbitrarily  laid  down,  and  the  various 
districts  which  they  contain  have  no  necessary  connection, 
no  common  tradition  or  natural  sympathy,  no  community 
of  existence;  their  object  is  simply  to  facilitate  the  ad- 
ministration. 

The  extent  of  the  township  was  too  small  to  contain  a 
system  of  judicial  institutions ;  the  county,  therefore,  is  the 
!  first  centre  of  judicial  action.     Each  county  has  a  court  of 
juutice,  a  sheriff  to  execute  its  decrees,  and  a  i)rison  for 
criminals.     There  are  certain  wants  which  are  felt  alike  by 
all  the  townships  of  a  county ;  it  is  therefore  natural  that 
they  should  be  satisfied  by  a  central  authority.     In  Mas- 
sachusetts, this  authority  is  vested  in  the  hands  of  several 
magistrates,  who  are  appointed  by  the  Governor  of  the 
State,  with  the  advice  of  his  council.*     The  County  Com- 
missioners have  only  a  limited  and  exceptional  authority, 
which  is  applicable  to  certain  predetermined  cases.     The 
!  State  and  the  townships  possess  all  the  power  requisite  for 
j  ordinary  public  business.     The  budget  of  the  county  is 
/  only  drawn  up  by  its  Commissioners,  and  is  voted  by  the 
^  legislature ;  there  is  no  assembly  which  directly  or  indi- 
rectly represents  the  county.     It  has,  therefore,  properly 
speaking,  no  political  existence. 

A  twofold  tendency  may  be  discenied  in  most  of  the 

*  Tlie  council  of  the  Governor  is  an  elective  body.  [The  County  Com- 
missioners are  now  elected  by  popular  vote.  See  Revised  Statutes. - 
Am.  Ed.] 


THE   ADMIN 


^f«^£m«4XjfcWM«K^Mi4»i^^i^«i^*^  ^?^% 


>-&.v<«&?&iyferf-iv 


TOTOSHIPS  ANU  MUNICIPAL  BODIES.  87 

American  constitutions,  which  impels  the  lemslatnr  t„ 
cent^te  the  leg^lative,  and  to  div'ide  the  e^^v^or 
The  township  of  New  England  has  in  itself  an  MesCcT 

"s- tinif:^- -  ^trrrr-tP 

of  it  has  not  been  felt     All  ,hl,        1  ^  ^'        "  **  *"" 
ut  oLen  leit.    All  the  townships  un  ted  have  U.t 

one  representation,  which  is  the  State,  , he  ce„tl™f  I^ 
lidlvMuS'^.cr:  "  ""^  "^  ^^  '•«'  *»"  ^  -'^'"S  but 

THE  ADMImSTHATION  OP  GOVBKNM^^   ,«    ^^  ^„^„ 

AJiDinhtratioD  no,  pc^ived  in  America.- Why '-Th.  v. 

Ii»™  ft.,  Liberty  is  pre^oted  bydepm,wr  gZ,f  A  I     '^  ^ 

the  Adminhtrntion  confined  ,n  ,h. -r        ,^        Exemse.  _  Almos,  all 

either  to  ,he  ToJlUpTaWv  it  -  ZT°  "'TH'  '"""'^• 
hap,«.^,h«theAd.iLt.tion:;';he  s'^LtTnl™  -wTotlJ" 
powered  to  enforce  the  Obedience  of  f),«  t        /"''™- —  ^^o  is  em- 

.ho  Law.-The  Inm.dueaofZdS^^^^.'n^^^rA?^'^""^^ '" 
-  Conae,„en«  of  the  Extension  of  .he  eZ^    P„t\1  r^lr 
fonance.  _  The  Jnsdce  of  the  Peace  m  New  EnL.l.rd       n    t^ 
pointed.  -  Connlv  Officer  ■  insim.  ,h.  ..1       .  ~    "  "'"'^  »I^ 

-Court  of  sJons.-ta  Ce tf  AcT"       wr"'"^"'"^f- 
before  .hie  Conrt  for  A*on  I^Riltf T~     ^°  '"'""  '*'"" 

P-W  on.  ,ile  fte  otlJL^i^f:"   ^1":-  '"^*»- 
conraged  iy  U,e  Divieion  of  Knee.  *""'^"°n«-  -  Informer,  en- 

NoT„mo  is  more  striking  to  a  European  ti^veUer  in 
rt.e  United  States  than  the  absence  of  wliat  we  tern  th" 
Uovemment,  or  the  Administnition.  Written  lawre^, 
m  America,  and  one  sees  the  daily  execution  of  them  •  bu 
al  hough  everything  move,  reguWy,  the  mover  cl  nl 
"here  be  d^covered.  The  hand  which  directs  ftHocid 
machine  .  mvisible.     Nevertheless,  as  all  p:„^  ^, 


•I 


88 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


have  recourse  to  certain  grammatical  forms,  which  are  the 
foundation  of  human  language,  in  order  to  express  their 
thoughts;  so  all  communities  are  obliged  to  secure  their 
existence  by  submitting  to  a  certain  amount  of  authority, 
without  which  they  fall  into  anarchy.  This  authority  may 
be  distributed  in  several  ways,  but  it  must  always  exist 
somewhere. 

There  are  two  methods  of  duninishing  the  force  of  au- 
thority in  a  nation.  The  first  is  to  weaken  the  supreme 
power  in  its  very  principle,  by  forbidding  or  preventing 
society  from  acting  in  its  own  defence  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances. To  weaken  authority  in  this  manner  is  the 
European  way  of  establishing  freedom. 

The  second  manner  of  diminishing  the  influence  of  au- 
thority does  not  consist  in  stripping  society  of  some  of  its 
rights,  nor  in  paralyzing  its  efforts-  but  in  distributing  the 
exercise  of  its  powers  among  various  hands,  and  in  multi- 
plying ftinctionaries,  to  each  of  whom  is  given  the  degree 
of  power  necessary  for  him  to  perform  his  duty.  There 
may  be  nations  whom  this  distribution  of  social  powers 
might  lead  to  anarchy ;  but  in  itself,  it  is  not  anarchical. 
The  authority  thus  divided  is,  indeed,  rendered  less  irre- 
sistible and  less  perilous,  but  it  is  not  destroyed. 

The  Revolution  of  the  United  States  was  the  result  of  a 
mature  and  reflecting  preference  of  freedom,  and  not  of 
a  vague  or  ill-defined  craving  for  independence.  It  con- 
tracted no  alliance  with  the  turbulent  passions  of  anarchy ; 
but  its  course  was  marked,  on  the  contrary,  by  a  love  of 
order  and  law. 

It  was  never  assumed  in  the  United  States,  that  the  citi- 
zen of  a  free  country  has  a  right  to  do  whatever  he  pleases; 
on  the  contrary,  more  social  obligations  were  there  imposed 
upon  him  than  anywhere  else.  No  idea  was  ever  enter- 
tained of  attacking  the  principle  or  contesting  the  rights 
of  society ;  but  the  exercise  of  its  authority  was  divided, 


TOWNSHIPS  AND  MUNICIPAL  BODIES. 


89 

shil  of  Nef  r^^  T""""''  *•«"  *«  "dependent  Z;,. 
the  btate,  or  see  that  they  are  exemfp.?  *    b    -j      , 

concL  teT,  ,T  ^'"l'  '""'  P^'-'Jgate  such  orde«  as 

we-rp  rc"^.^srsrrrirr: 

waKh  and  te  e.ecuClT;  '°™"°'~''  °"  "'"'"^  «-  "-P 

The  Belectmen  draw  ud  the  lUfo  «f  ^«*      *     , 

-  .  .u»»ce  ,„  fte  r/hCLr  "^"^'"-"■^  -«  »"■"  -"^^  which 

"7  01  tne  public  in  case  of  contagiouu  diseases. 


I  il 


90 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


It  results  from  what  we  have  said,  that,  in  the  State 
of  Massachusetts,  the  administi-ative   authority  is  almost 
entirely  restricted  to  the  township,*  and  that  it  is  there 
distributed  among  a  great  number  of  individuals.     In  the 
French  commune^  there  is  properly  but  one  official  func- 
tionary,— namely,  the  Maire  ;  and  in  New  England,  we 
have  seen  that  there  are  nineteen.     These  nineteen  func- 
tionaries do  not,  in  general,  depend  one   upon  another. 
The  law  carefully  prescribes  a  circle  of  action  to  each  of 
theso  magistrates ;  within  that  circle,  they  are  all-powerf\il 
to  perform  their  functions  independently  of  any  other  au- 
thority.    Above  the   township,  scarcely   any  trace   of  a 
hierarchy  of  official  dignities  is  to  be  found.     It  sometimes 
happens,  that  the  county  officers  alter  a  decision  of  the 
townships,  or  town  magistrates;!  but,  in  general,  the  au- 
thorities of  the  county  have  no  right  to  interfere  with  the 
authorities  of  the  township,|  except  in  such  matters  as 
concern  the  county. 

The  magistrates  of  the  township,  as  well  as  those  of  the 

•  I  say  almost,  for  there  are  many  incidents  in  town-life  wliich  are  regu- 
lated by  the  justices  of  peace  in  their  individual  capacity,  or  by  an  assembly 
of  them  in  the  chief  town  of  the  county ;  thus,  licenses  are  granted  by  the 

justices. 

t  Tims,  licenses  are  granted  only  .0  such  pcreons  as  can  produce  a  certif- 
icate of  good  conduct  from  the  selectmen.  If  the  selectmen  refuse  to  give 
the  certiKcate,  the  party  may  appeal  to  the  justices  assembled  in  the  Court 
of  Sessions;  and  they  may  grant  the  license.  The  townships  have  the  right 
to  make  by-laws,  and  to  enforce  them  by  fines,  which  are  fixed  by  law ;  but 
these  by-laws  must  be  approved  by  the  Court  of  SessiDiis.  [In  several  re- 
spects, these  laws  and  customs  have  been  altered  by  general  legislation  since 
the  time  when  De  Tocqueville  wrote.  But  I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to 
specify  all  these  alterations,  as  generally  it  is  not  the  principle,  but  only  the 
details,  of  the  law  that  have  been  changed.  —  Am.  Ed.] 

}  In  Massachusetts  the  county  magistrates  arc  frequently  called  upon  to 
investigate  the  acts  of  the  toAvn  magistrates ;  but  it  will  be  shown  farther  on 
that  this  investigation  is  a  consequence,  not  of  their  administrative,  but  of 
their  judicial  power. 


co\i  nty,  c 

cases,  to 

ment.*     j 

by  an  ag 

ulations  a 

to  keep  V 

the  towns) 

direct  thei 

no  point  \ 

ministratio 

How,  th 

form  plan  ? 

tlieir  marri 

enforced  ? 

authority  ei 

the  legislate 

tion ;  the  la 

ment  prescr 

tion,  and  tli 

defined  oblij 

ries  of  the 

the  seconda 

to  the  law, 

greatest  unif 

the  secondai 

tion  to  confo 

that  society  ] 

tion  of  the  L 

to  one  of  the 

them  in  case 

be  required 

But  these  tw 

The  right  < 

•  Thus,  the  to 
report  to  the  Seer 


TOWNSHirs  AND  MUNlCirAI.  BODIKS.  »1 

Ty  an  „^en '  '^'  ""T    S"™™""^"'  "  ""t  represented 
oy  an  agent  whose  business  it  is  to  publish  police  rerr 

tot:  :"'';"«7-  f-  *e  cxecutiL  of  ,^tZ 
to  i^eep  up  a  regular  communication  witi,  the  officers  of 

te  tTet^a?  ""  """'^'  "^  '°  ■'"'P-'-  '<>-  -  d„et 
,,r„l      ..  f   "'■  '"■  "'r>'m«nd  their  faults.     There  i. 

m°„!:rti:r ' ''''-'  ■-  -  ^™'- '» '■■« ««"'  »f  *«  «a 

How,  then,  can  the  government  be  conducted  on  a  nni 

enforced  =   ,    IV^^C^XS  tlXtre 
authonty  embrace,  mo,^  subjects  than  it  does  in  Cnce 

t-on,  the  law  descends  to  minute  details;  the  same  enact 
ment  prescr.bes  the  principle  and  the  method  ofrL2a 
t  on,  and  U„„  imposes  a  multitude  of  strict  and  lor^ s,v 

r1^"ottt' "tr  Th*^  '''"'"'''  ''"'"-  »"<'  ^^^- 
nes  ot  the  btote.    The  consequence  of  this  is,  that  if  all 

he  secondary  fonctionaries  of  the  administtution  c  rf„™ 
to  the  law,  society  in  all  its  branches  proceeds  with  tW 
greatest  uniformity.    The  difficulty  remaLXw  t„  1!^^ 
he  secondary  bodies  and  functionaries  of   he  adminX 
.on  ,0  conform  to  the  law.     It  may  be  affirmed,  in  g^S" 
hat  society  has  only  two  methods  of  enforcing  the^x^u 
tion  of  the  laws :  a  discretionary  power  mav  be  t^ Tj 
to  one  of  them  of  directing  all  th'e'otl  en,  and  of   e^ll 
*em  m  case  of  disobedience ;  or  the  co.;ts  of  tX  ^V 
^  required  to  inflict  judicial  penalties  on  the  XZ 

The  rirhr?  r*""^  '^^  ""  "■"'■^^  availabl    *'"• 
The  right  of  directing  a  civil  officer  presupposes  that  of 

secretary  of  the  State  on  the  condition  of  the  schools. 


'    i| 


i     i 


02 


DI'MOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


casliiering  him  if  lio  does  not  obey  orders,  and  of  reward 
ing  him  by  promotion  if  he  ftdfils  his  duties  with  propriety. 
But  an  elected  magistrate  cannot  be  casliiered  or  promot- 
ed. All  elective  functions  are  inalienable  until  their  term 
expires.  In  fact,  the  elected  magistrate  has  nothing  to 
expect  or  to  fear,  except  from  his  constituents ;  and  when 
all  public  offices  are  filled  by  ballot,  there  can  be  no  series 
of  official  dignities,  because  the  double  right  of  command- 
ing and  of  enforcing  obedience  can  never  be  vested  in  the 
same  person,  and  because  the  power  of  issuing  an  order 
can  never  be  joined  to  that  of  inflicting  a  punishment  or 
bestowing  a  rcAvard. 

The   communities,   therefore,  in   which   the  secondary 
functionaries  of  the  government  are  elected,  are  perforce 
obliged  to  make  great  use  of  judicial  penalties  as  a  means 
of  administration.     This  is  not  evident  at  first  sight ;  for 
those  in  power  are  apt  to  look  upon  the  institution  of  elec- 
tive functionaries  as  one  concession,  and  the  subjection  of 
the  elected  magistrate  to  the  judges  of  the  land  as  another. 
They  are  equally  averse  to  both  these  innovations  ;  and  as 
they  are  more  pressingly  solicited  to  grant  the  fomer  than 
the  latter,  they  accede  to  the  election  of  the  magistrate,  and 
leave  him  indenendent  of  the  judicial  power.     Neverthe- 
less, the  second  of  these  measures  is  the  only  thing  that 
can  possibly  counterbalance  the  first ;  and  it  will  be  found 
that  an  elective  authority  which  is  not  subject  to  judicial 
power  will,  sooner  or  later,  either  elude  all  control  or  be 
destroyed.     The  courts  of  justice   are   the   only  possible 
medium  between  the  central  power  and  the  administrative 
bodies  ;  they  alone  can  compel  the  elected  functionary  to 
obey,  without  violating  the  rights  of  the  elector.     The 
extension  of  judicial  power  in  the  political  world  ought, 
therefore,  to  be  in  the  exact  ratio  of  the  extension  of  elec- 
tive power :  if  these  two  institutions  do  not  go  hand  in 
hand,  the  State  must  fell  into  anarchy  or  into  servitude. 


I 

TOWNSHIPS  AND   MUNICIPAL   BODIES.  M 

It  ha,  always  been  remarked  that  judicial  habits  do  „„, 
-nder  „e„  apt  to  the  exe.ise  of  adlist:;tiv7autltir 
ri,e  Ameneans  have  borrowed  from  their  fathers,  the  71 
lish,  the  Idea  of  an  institution  which  is  unknown  uoon  tlfe 
™nt  of  Europe:  I  allude  to  that  of  JusTces':;  t 

The  Justice  of  the  Peace  is  a  sort  of  middle  term  b^ 
ween    he  magistrate  and  the  man  of  the  world,  toweet 
the  civil  officer  and  the  judge.     A  justice  of  the  peace  i" 
>veU^formed  c  ti.en,  though  he  is  not  necessaririlned 
.n  the  law      His  office  simply  obliges  him  to  exec" 
po hce  regulations  of  society,  a  task  in  which  ^TJZ 
and  integrity  are  of  more  avail  than  legal  sciefict    TlL 
ustice  — ces  inu.  the  administi-atio^n,  when  h;  J' 
pa  t  in  I ,  a  cei-tein  taste  for  established  forms  and  pub- 
■city,  which  renders  liim  a  most  unserviceable  instrument 
for  despotism ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  not  a  slave  of 
those  legal  superstitions  which  render  judges  unfit  members 
of  a  government.     The  Americans  liave  "adopted  the  Eng 
l.sh  system  of  justices  of  the  peace,  depriig  it  of  the 

country.     The  Governor  of  Massachusetts  appoints  a  cer- 
tain number  of  justices  of  the  peace  in  every  county,  whl 
fiinctions  last  seven  yeai..     He  fiirther  designa^    th^el 
mividuals  from  the  whole  body  of  justices,  ^o  forrn^n 
each  coun  y  what  is  called  the  Court  of  Sessions.*     The 
jusuces  take  a  personal  share  in  the  public  administmtion ; 
they  are  sometimes  intrusted  with  administrative  functions 
m  conjunction  with  elected  officer. ,  f  they  sometimr  con! 

rc:it  or:tir  t^^r  *''° '"-^^  °"  *^ "™ 


i  n 
1 1\ 


i';*««*5l»«iiiWii«««'**f&*., 


94 


DEMOCRACY   IM  AMERICA. 


^ 


fititute  a  tribunal,  before  which  the  magistrates  siimniarily 
prosecute  a  refractory  citizen,  or  the  citizens  inform  against 
the  abuses  of  the  magistrate.     But  it  is  in  the  Court  of 
Sessions  that  they  exercise  their  most  important  functions. 
This  court  meets  twice  a  year,  in  the  county  town;  in 
Massachusetts,  it  is  empowered  to  enforce  the  obedience  of 
most*  of  the  public  officers.f     It  must  be  observed  that, 
in  Massachusetts,  the  Court  of  Sessions  is  at  the  same  time 
an  administrative  body,  properly  so  called,  and  a  political 
tribunal.     It  has  been  mentioned   that  the  county  is  a 
j  purely  administrative   division.     The   Court  of  Sessions 
/  presides  over  that  small  nUmber  of  affairs  which,  as  they 
(    concern  several   townships,  or  all   the  towns!  lips  of  the 
'    county  in  common,  cannot  be  intrusted  to  ai  y  one  of 
them  in  particular. :{:     In  all  that  concerns  county  business, 
the  duties  of  the  Court  of  Sessions  are  purely  administra- 
tive ;  and  if  in  its  procedure  it  occasionally  introduces  judi- 
cial forms,  it  is  only  with  a  vie\\  to  its  own  information,^ 
or  as  a  guaranty  to  those  for  whom  it  acts.     But  when  the 
administration  of  the  township  is  brought  before  it,  it  acts 

♦  I  say  most  of  them,  because  certain  administrative  misdemeanors  are 
brought  before  the  ordinary  tribunals.  If,  for  instance,  a  tovmship  refuses 
to  make  the  necessary  expenditure  for  its  schools,  or  to  name  a  school-com- 
mittee, it  is  liable  to  a  heavy  fine.  But  this  penalty  is  pronounced  by  the 
Supreme  Judicial  Court  or  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 

t  In  their  individual  capacity,  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  take  a  part  in  the 
business  of  the  counties  and  townships.  In  general,  the  most  important 
acts  of  the  town  can  be  performed  only  with  the  concurrence  of  some  one  of 

them. 

I  These  affairs  may  be  brought  under  the  following  heads :  —  1.  The  erec- 
tion of  prisons  and  courts  of  justice.  2.  The  county  budget,  which  is  after- 
wards voted  by  the  State  legislature.  3.  The  distribution  of  the  taxes  so 
voted.  4.  Grants  of  certain  patents.  5.  The  laying  down  and  repairs 
of  the  county  roads.  [Most  of  these  acts  are  now  performed  by  the  County 
Commissioners.  —  Am.  Ed.] 

§  Thus,  when  a  road  is  under  consideration.  »lmost  all  difficulties  are  dia- 
posed  of  by  the  aid  of  the  jury. 


TOWNSHIPS  AND  MUNICIPAL  BODIES. 


95 

:  State.     We  have  8tate7  tLf     ^         ^"^"^  '*™  "*'  *« 

attempts  to  evade  tht  prymeTt  rf  th^.         I  "  '°™^'''P 
to  name  its  assessor,  the  Co2  nf -^^   •  ""^  ""«'^"'^g 

a  heavy  fine.   The  fineT,  I    ^  ?""'  «°"<'«n'ns  it  to 

and  the  sheriff  of  Z.  .  T  T  '^''  "''*«  "h^Wtante ; 
executes  ^fj^,  ^°2>  J^^^  *^^  f^  "  ^''''^'' 
ernment  authoritv  anvio,,,  t!  t  *^  ®'"^'  S"^" 

under  the  forms  rf  a  •  T" 7       ''  °"'  "^^'s'"'  '"'''^  i^«'f 

at  the  -eTrlttSt X? i^^liTHM'''  ^"""T  '^ 
men  attribute  to  the  formalihW  Uw  '   '""'''  ""''' 

Ihese  proceedings  are  easv  tn  «>ii„        j 
The  demands  mad?  uBonTfn^  t      '"^  *»  ""''^'''and. 
and  accumtely  define^'^  thev       '    P-'^' '"  ^'""^^  P>=^ 
a  principle  wifh"a;nW    "  •    .'"  *  ''"P'^  ^*'  "'  '» 
cultv  berins  when  i    !,  ^^    !i"'"u°,''"*"*    B"*  *«  *•«- 

but-that'of ;?;»;'  offi :,  thSrtrr'  t  *'"'"^'">- 

the  reprehensible  actions  wCh  1  ;:bL''r'''r"'-     ^" 
—  -  -ducible  to  the  fc^owlg  tl  1""^  '='" 

He  may  execute  the  law  without  fne^^^leal  • 

He  may  neglect  what  the  law  ,«,uiresT  ' 

He  may  do  what  the  law  forbids. 

<Jnly  the  last  two  violations  nf  J... 

M  .Hbunal,  a  Po.tivetTaJ^|^rjrth^r 

for  the  ,«„  of  the  „^,  .„j  iJl""^^'!''"'"""'  ">  f^"-"  indiWao... 

<«™hip.    Th,«,  by  thr««,„„i„7a^r '  **  *°  '"  S"-™  Mm  .g.i«  «,, 
-ompUance  ftom  the  ,o,v„.  '  "'°  <^°«  "f  S«MioM  «„« 


i    >l 


96 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


-it 


'    l\    ]■ 

1 

'  1 

1 

u 

pensable  foundation  of  an  action  at  law.      Thus,  if  the 
selectmen  omit  the  legal  fonnalities  usual  at  town  elections, 
I  they  may  be  fined.    But  when  the  officer  performs  his  duty 
I  unskilfully,  or  obeys  the  letter  of  the  law  without  zeal  or 
'    energy,  he  is  out  of  the  reach  of  judicial  interference.    The 
Court  of  Sessions,  even  when  clothed  with  administrative 
powers,  is  in  this  case  unable  to  enforce  a  more  satisfactory 
obedience.     The  fear  of  removal  is  the  only  check  to  these 
quasi-offences,  and  the  Court  of  Sessions  does  not  origmate 
the  town  authorities ;  it  cannot  remove  ftinctionaries  whom 
it  does  not  appoint.      Moreover,  a  perpetual  supervision 
would  be  necessary  to  convict  the  officer  of  negligence  or 
lukewarmness.     Now  the  Court  of  Sessions  sits  but  twice 
a  year,  and  then  only  judges  such  offences  as  are  brought 
to  its  notice.    The  only  security  for  that  active  and  enhght- 
ened  obedience,  which  a  court  of  justice  cannot  enforce 
upon  pubhc  functionaries,  lies  in  the  arbitrary  removal  of 
them  from  office.     In  France,  this  final  security  is  exer- 
^cised  by  the  heads  of  the  administration ;  in  America,  it  is 
obtamed  through  the  principle  of  election. 

Thus,  to  recapitulate  in  a  few  words  what  I  have  de- 
scribed :  —  •  ^       ^ 

If  a  pubHc  officer  in  New  England  commits  a  crime  in 
the  exercise  of  his  fiinctions,  the  ordinary  courts  of  justice 
are  always  called  upon  to  punish  him. 

If  he  commits  a  fault  in  his  administrative  capacity,  a 
purely  administrative  tribunal  is  empowered  to  punish 
him ;  and,  if  the  affair  is  important  or  urgent,  the  judge 
does  what  the  functionary  should  have  done.* 

Lastly,  if  the  same  individual  is  guilty  of  one  of  those 
intangible  offences  which  human  justice  can  neither  define 
nor  appreciate,  he  annually  appears  before  a  tribunal  from 

♦  If,  for  instance,  a  townflhip  persists  in  refusing  to  name  its  assessors,  the 
Court  of  Sessions  nominates  them;  and  the  magistrates  thus  appointed  are 
invested  with  the  same  authority  as  elected  officers. 


TOWNSHIPS   AND  MUNICIPAL   BODIES.  97 

wWch  there  is  no  appeal,  which  can  at  once  reduce  him  to 
m^gnific^ce,  and  deprive  him  of  hi,  charge.  This  system 
undonhtedly  possesses  great  advantages,  hut  its  execution 
.s  attended  with  a  practical  difficulty,  which  it  is  important 
to  pomt  out.  *^ 

whih*™  ^^'dy  observed,  that  the  administrative  tribunal,; 
which  IS  called  the  Court  of  Sessions,  has  no  right  of  in' 
spection  over  the  town  officers.    It  can  only  interfere  when ' 
the  conduct  of  a  magistrate  is  speciaUy  brought  under  its 
notice;  and  tins  is  the  delicate  part  of  the  fystem.     The  " 
Amencans  of  New  England  have  no  public  prosecutor  for 
the  Court  of  Sessions,*  and  it  may  readUy  be  perceived 
that  It  wou^d  be  difficult  .0  create  one.     If  an'accuZ. 
i^gistrate  had  merely  been  appointed  in  the  chief  town 
of  each  county  and  he  had  been  unassisted  by  agents  in 
the  townships,  he  would  not  have  been  better  acquainted 
with  what  was  going  on  in  the  county  than  the  members 
of  the  Court  of  Sessions.     But  to  appoint  his  agents  in 
each  township  would  have  been  to  centre  in  his  peLn  the 
most  formidable  of  powers,  that  of  a  judicial  administration. 
Moreover,  laws  are  the  children  of  habit,  and  nothing  of 
the  kind  exists  m  the  legislation  of  England.     The  Amer- 
.cans  have,  therefore,  divided  the  offices  of  inspection  andl 
complaint,  as  well  as  aU  the  otlier  functions  of  the  adminis-^ 
tiation      Grand-jurors  are  bomid  by  the  law  to  apprise  the\ 
court  to  which  they  belong  of  all  the  misdemeano^  which  ^ 
may  have  been  committed  in  their  county.f     There  are 

the  State; I  but,  more  frequently,  the  task  of  pimishincr 
•  I  «.jr  ti.6  Coart  of  SeMioni,  bscM..  i„  «,„„„„  courts  there  i.  „  „ffl 

Ttllt^"  '""™^'  '"■°  •-'^-  --  °' '-  <^cti;^T.::"' 

t  If,  for  i,«tanco,  ,h.  trcurer  of  the  county  hold.  b«k  hi,  .coouu... 


V)8 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


delinquents  devolves  upon  the  fiscal  officer,  whose  prov- 
ince it  is  to  receive  the  fine:  thus,  the  treasurer  of  the 
township  is  charged  with  the  prosecution  of  such  adminis- 
trative offences  as  fall  under  his  notice.  But  a  more  espe- 
cial appeal  is  made  by  American  legislation  to  the  private 
interest  of  each  citizen ;  *  and  this  great  principle  is  con- 
stantly to  be  met  with  in  studying  the  laws  of  the  United 
States.  American  legislators  are  more  apt  to  give  men 
credit  for  intelligence  than  for  honesty ;  and  they  rely  not 
a  Uttle  on  personal  interest  for  the  execution  of  the  laws. 
When  an  individual  is  really  and  sensibly  injured  by  an 
administrative  abuse,  his  personal  interest  is  a  guaranty 
that  he  will  prosecute.  But  if  a  legal  formality  be  re- 
quired, which,  however  advantageous  to  the  community, 
is  of  small  importance  to  individuals,  plaintiffs  may  be  less 
easily  found ;  and  thus,  by  a  tacit  agreement,  the  laws  may 
fall  into  disuse.  Reduced  by  their  system  to  this  extremity, 
the  Americans  are  obliged  to  encourage  informers  by  be- 
stowing on  them  a  portion  of  the  penalty  in  certain  cases ;  f 
and  they  thus  insure  the  execution  of  the  laws  by  the  dan- 
gerous expedient  of  degrading  the  morals  of  the  people. 

*  Thus,  to  take  one  example  out  of  a  thousand,  if  a  private  individual 
breaks  his  carriage,  or  is  wounded,  in  consequence  of  the  badness  of  a  road, 
he  can  sue  the  township  or  the  county  for  damages  at  the  sessions. 

t  In  cases  of  invasion  or  insurrection,  if  the  town  officers  neglect  to  fur- 
nish the  necessary  stores  and  ammunition  for  the  militia,  the  township  may 
be  condemned  to  a  fine  of  from  200  to  500  dollars.  It  may  readily  be  im< 
agined  that,  in  such  a  case,  it  might  happen  that  no  one  would  care  to  pros- 
ecute; hence  the  law  adds,  that  any  citizen  may  enter  a  complaint  for 
offences  of  this  kind,  and  that  half  the  fine  shall  belong  to  the  prosecutor. 
See  Act  of  6th  March,  1810.  The  same  clause  is  frequently  to  be  met  with 
in  the  Laws  of  Massachusetts.  Not  only  are  private  individuals  thus  incited 
to  prosecute  the  public  officers,  but  the  public  officers  are  encouraged  in  the 
same  manner  to  bring  the  disobedience  of  private  individuals  to  justice.  If 
a  citizen  refuses  to  perform  the  work  which  has  been  assigned  to  him  upon  a 
road,  the  road-surveyor  may  prosecute  him,  and,  if  convicted,  he  receives 
half  the  penalty  for  himself. 


"  41 


TOWNSHIPS   AND  MUNICIPAL  BODIES.  99 

OBNBKAL    KEM.BK3    ON   THE   AD„,s,„«,„o»    „   »> 

ONITED   STATES. 
DilteDces  of  .he  Sbm  „f  «,»  Union  ta  their  Svstems  of  ^.    •  •       • 
AcBvity  .„d  Perfeoion  of  Ae  Town  Ana,ori«     /  AdnunMtadon.  _ 

So«.h.  Power  of  «,e  M.gi»«^„t^ri  ^r^rvT'l'  "^ 
»he8._Admini8tmtion  pimes  ftom  thTr''  ".' °' ""^  Voter  dimln- 
S.«e.of  New  York:  Ol^o:  PeoMvl™!  T  ''m  ""=  ''"""^ - 
tion  .pplicble  .0  the  whole  UninTLj  T^'"""'^""''-^"'™- 
Menabili.^  of  tf,ei,  Punetio^  1  Ata^tt^V?"*  «««».  -<• 
...Eduction  Of  Jnaicie,  Pr^dn.  ^Z  I'dS^r  ""*-  " 

detail,  I  shouIdZ'^M  Z"l^^^^"^'™<' " 
Uraoii.     TownshiBs  anftn^  *^  remainder  of  the 

State;  but  ^^oZt  t:: ^^^H'^Z  "''  "  ^^"^ 
^  ^  met  with  p^eisel,  L,af  tl'^o^  '^C  ^^^^^P, 

Wer  nujmC^T  •IhrL'^-T'-  ''  --  ^ 
ercises  a  less  immediate  inflaence  on  ^4  ?"P"''"'°"  "^-  ' 
are  less  frequent,  and  the  IZ  J"f  d^^^t:  r™-""'"8s 
The  power  of  the  elected  m^trnte  t  ''  ""T"""' 
that  of  the  voter  diminished  Th^^v  ^^'''*^'  »<I 
the  local  commnnities  Tless  eldttd  A  ?"*"."=/?«'  »f 
TTiese  difference,  may  be  pelted  f„        '^''.™''™''«^-* 

the  State  of  New  York  •  ?W  *  ■^'^"  *''*^"«  ™ 

^'lew  lork,  they  are  veiy  sensible  in  Penn- 

^ir^Biro^rLi^trr'r.**''"'''-^-''-"^ 
co...cxoa,  co»s.„™,  ozriitrrrr  ^=""°-- 

Highways:  and  in  the  Acta  of  a  ^Pn». 7  '  Scpebvisoks  of 

A«ofthe..hofPehr„^".':3:,s-r~:rr,r''"°-'^ 


I 


tfWiliWK 


100 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


sylvania ;  but  they  become  less  striking  as  we  advance  to 
the  Northwest.  The  majority  of  the  emigrants  who  settle 
in  the  Northwestern  States  are  natives  of  New  England, 
and  they  carry  the  administrative  habits  of  their  mother 
country  with  them  into  the  country  which  they  adopt. 
A  townsliip  in  Ohio  is  not  unlike  a  township  in  Massar 

chusetts. 

We  have  seen  that,  in  Massachusetts,  the  mainspring  of 
public  administration  lies  in  the  township.     It  forms  the 
common  centre  of  the  interests  and  affections  of  the  cit- 
izens.    But  this  ceases  to  be  the  case  as  we  descend  to  the 
States  in  which  knowledge  is  less  generally  diffused,  and 
where  the  township  consequently  offers  fewer  guaranties 
of  a  wise  and  active  admmistration.     As  we  leave  New 
Encrland,  therefore,  we  find  that  the  importance  of  the 
town  is  gradually  transferred  to  the  county,  which  becomes 
the  centre  of  administration,  and  the  intermediate  power 
between  the  government  and  the  citizen.     In  Massachu- 
setts, the  business  of  the  county  is  conducted  by  the  Court 
of  Sessions,  which  is  composed  of  a  quorum  appointed  by 
the  Governor  and  his  Council ;  but  the  county  has  no  rep- 
resentative assembly,  and  its  expenditure  is  voted  by  the 
State  legislature.     In  the  great  State  of  New  York,  on  the 
contrary,  and  in  those  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania,  the  in- 
habitants of  each  county  choose  a  certain  number  of  repre- 
sentatives, who  constitute  the  assembly  of  the  county.* 
\_^-The  county  assembly  has  the  right  of  taxing  the  inhab- 
itants to  a  certain  extent ;  and  it  is,  in  this  respect,  a  real 

«  See  the  Eevised  Statutes  of  the  State  of  New  York,  Part  I.  chap.  xi. 
Vol.  I.  p.  340,  Id.,  chap.  xii.  p.  5)66 ;  also,  in  the  Acts  of  the  State  of 
Ohio,  an  act  relating  to  county  commissioners,  25th  February,  1824,  p.  263. 
See  the  Digest  of  the  Laws  of  Pennsylvania,  at  the  words  CoimTT-BATBS 

and  Lbvibs,  p.  170. 

In  the  State  of  New  York,  each  township  elects  a  representative,  who  has 
a  share  in  the  administration  of  the  county  as  well  as  ir  ih.it  of  thn  town- 
■liip. 


TOWNSHIPS  AND  MUNICIPAL  BODIES.  JOl 

legislative  body  =  at  the  same  time,  it  exercises  a.,  exec 
ubve  power  m  the  county,  frequently  directs  the  admin- 
«ta.hon  of  the  townships,  and  restricts  their  authori^ 
within  much  narrower  bounds  than  in  Massachusetts. 

Such  are  the  principal  differences  which  the  systems  of 
county  and  town  administration  present  in  the  Federal 
States.     Were  ,t  my  intention  to  examine  the  subject  in 
detail,  I  should  have  to  point  out  stiD  further  differences 
n  the  executive  details  of  the  several  communities.     But 
I  have  said  enough  to  show  the  general  principles  on  which 
the  admmistration  m  the  United  States  rests.     These  prin- 
ciples are  differently  appUed:  their  consequences  are  more 
or  less  numerous  in  various  locaUties ;   but  they  are  al- 
ways substantially  the  same.     The  laws  differ,  Ld  their 

them.     If  the  township  and  the  county  are  not  everywhere 

the  Umted  States,  the  comity  and  the  township  are  always 
;  '^«J'>Ponthe  same  principle;  namely,  that  Liy  one  is 

the  best  judge  of  what  concerns  himself  alone,  ^d  the 
I  most  proper  person  to  supply  his  own  wants.  The  town- 
,'  ship  and  tiie  county  are  therefore  bomid  to  take  care  of 

Itr  n  .'""'■''i'  *'  ®'*'"  S"™™'-  but  does  not 
execute  the  laws.  Exceptions  to  this  principle  may  be 
met  with,  but  not  a  contrary  principle. 

The  first  consequence  of  this  doctrine  has  been  to  cause 
all  the  magistrates  to  be  chosen  either  by  the  inhabitants, 
01  at  least  from  among  them.  As  the  officers  are  everyl 
where  dected  or  appointed  for  a  certain  period,  it  has  beTn 
mpos.ble  to  establish  the  rules  of  a  hieLch;  of  autho " 
tie  ,  there  ^  dmost  as  many  independent  functionaries 
as  dicre  are  functions,  and  the  executive  power  is  dissem- 
mated  in  a  mutetude  of  hands.    Hence  arose  the  necessity 

adi^^^T*      /T™'  "^  ""'  '"^  °f  J"''!''^  °™'  the 
administration,  and  the  system  of  pecuniaiy  penalties,  by 


•':&tM^mifm^i)imMmM:mf:ii 


102 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


which  the  secondary  bodies  and  their  representatives  are 
constrained  to  obey  the  laws.  This  system  obtains  fiom 
one  end  of  the  Union  to  the  other.  The  power  of  pun- 
ishing administrative  misconduct,  or  of  performing,  in 
urgent  cases,  administrative  acts,  has  not,  however,  been 
bestowed  on  the  same  judges  in  all  the  States.  The 
Anglo-Americans  derived  the  institution  of  justices  of  the 
peace  from  a  common  source ;  but  although  it  exists  in  all 
the  States,  it  is  not  always  turned  to  the  same  use.  The 
justices  of  the  peace  everywhere  participate  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  townships  and  the  counties,*  either  as 
public  officers,  or  as  the  judges  of  public  misdemeanors ; 
but  in  most  of  the.  States,  the  more  important  public 
offences  come  under  the  cognizance  of  the  ordinary  tri- 
bunals. 

Thus,  the  election  of  public  officers,  or  the  inalienability 
of  their  functions,  the  absence  of  a  gradation  of  powers, 
and  the  introduction  of  judicial  action  over  the  secondary 
branches  of  the  administration,  are  the  principal  and  uni- 
versal characteristics  of  the  American  system  from  Maine 
to  the  Floridas.  In  some  States  (and  that  of  New  York 
has  advanced  most  in  this  direction)  traces  of  a  centralized 
administration  begin  to  be  discernible.  In  the  State  of 
New  York,  the  officers  of  the  central  government  exercise, 
in  certain  cases,  a  sort  of  inspection  or  control  over  the 
secondary  bodies.f     At  other  times,  they  constitute  a  sort 

»  In  some  of  the  Southern  States,  the  county  courts  are  charged  with  all 
the  detail  of  the  administration.  See  the  Statutes  of  the  State  of  Tennessee, 
Art.  Judiciary,  Taxes,  &c. 

t  For  instance,  the  direction  of  public  instruction  is  centralized  in  the 
hands  of  the  government.  The  legislature  names  the  members  of  the  Uni- 
versity, who  are  denominated  Regents ;  the  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Gov- 
emor  of  the  State  are  necessarily  of  the  numl)er.  The  Regents  of  the 
University  annually  visit  the  colleges  and  academics,  and  make  their  report 
to  the  legislature.  Their  superintendence  is  not  inefficient,  for  several  rea- 
•ona :  the  Colleges,  in  order  to  become  corporations,  stand  in  need  of  a  char 


TOWNSHIPS  AND  MUNICIPAL  BODIES.  103 

of  court  Of  appeal  for  the  decision  of  affairs.*  In  the 
State  of  New  York,  judicial  penalties  are  less  used  than 
in  other  places  as  a  means  of  administration ;  and  the  right 
of  prosecuting  the  offences  of  public  officers  is  vested  in 
fewer  hands  f  The  same  tendency  is  faintly  observable 
m  some  other  States  ;  J  but,  in  general,  the  prominent 
feature  of  the  admmistration  in  the  United  States  is  its 
excessive  decentralization. 

tor.  which  is  only  granted  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Regents:  every 

anri?p  "".f  '^  *''  ^""'^  '''  *'«  encouragement  of  learning' 
sTo!l  ^^^,r,'^  *«  ^«*^''°*o'^  of  this  money.  The  sehool-commi!! 
s«,ne™  are  obhged  to  send  an  annual  report  to  the  general  Superintendent 
of  the  Schools  A  snnilar  report  is  annually  made  to  the  same  person  on 
the  number  and  condition  of  the  poor. 

•  If  any  one  conmves  himself  to  bo  wronged  by  the  school-commission- 
ers  (who  are  town  officers),  he  can  appeal  to  the  Superintendent  of  the  Pri- 
mary Schools,  whose  decision  is  final. 

Provisions  similar  to  those  above  cited  are  to  be  met  with  from  time  to 
t.me  m  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York;  but.  in  general,  these  a^pS 
at  cen^uatjon  are  feeble  and  unproductive.    The  great  a^horities  of  th^ 
State  have  the  nght  of  watching  and  controlUng  the  subordinate  agents,    . 
without  that  of  rewarding  or  punishing  them.     The  same  individual 

ZT^ZT^  *"  ^"'  '°  °'^'''  "^'  *"  P""'^'>  disobedience;  he  has,  ther«. 

;«,n  .?  c      *'!''"'°"'^''^'  ^*^««*  the  means  of  exacting  compliant 

In  1830,  the  Superintendent  of  Schools,  in  his  annual  report  to  the  legt 

ature,  comphuned  that  several  school-commissioners  had  neglected,  notwfth- 

TaddL^bT^^"' '."  '"™^'  ''"  ^'"^  *^«  accounts  which  Ue  due. 
He  added  that,  ,f  th,s  omission  continued,  he  should  be  obliged  to  prosecute 
them,  as  the  law  directs,  before  the  proper  tribunals, 
of  M?In*'''  "^'f  ^■'^T'^  ''  ^^«*ed  to  recover  aU  fines  below  the  sum 
l^Ll       '  *  ""'*  '"  '"°  ''''""'^  '^'-'^^  ^o  -other 

J  Several  traces  of  centralization  maybe  discovered  in  Massachusetts- 
for  mstance.  the  committees  of  the  town  schools  are  directed  to  mTe  an' 
aimual  report  to  the  Secretary  of  State. 


\J 


I 


U 


mmi><^^smms^mmmmmM»m^, 


104 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


OF  THE  STATE. 

I  HAVE  described  the  townships  and  the  administration 
it  now  remains  for  me  to  speak  of  the  State  and  the  gov- 
ernment. This  ui  gromr  -  may  pass  over  rapidly,  without 
fear  of  being  iuisundcrj,i.  od ;  for  all  I  have  to  say  is  to  be 
found  in  the  various  written  constitutions,  copies  of  which 
are  easily  to  be  procured.  These  constitutions  rest  upon 
a  simple  and  rational  theory;  most  of  their  forms  have 
been  adopted  by  all  constitutionuJ  iiatiOns,  and  are  become 
familiar  to  us. 

Here,  then,  I  have  only  to  give  a  brief  account ;  I  shall 
endeavor  afterwards  to  pass  judgment  upon  what  I  now 
desciibe. 

LEGISLATIVE   POWER   OF  THE   STATE. 

Division  of  the  Le^slative  Body  into  two  Houses.  —  Senate.  —  House  of 
Representatives.  —  Different  Functions  of  these  two  Bodies. 

The  legislative  power  of  the  State  is  vested  '\n  two 
assemblies,  the  first  of  which  generally  bears  the  name 
of  the  Senate. 

The  Senate  is  commonly  a  legislative  body ;  but  it  some- 
times becomes  an  executive  and  judicial  one.  It  takes  part 
in  the  government  in  £3veral  ways,  according  to  the  con- 
stitution of  the  different  States ;  *  but  it  is  in  the  nomina- 
tion of  pubHc  functionaries  that  it  most  commonly  assumes 
an  executive  power.  It  partakes  of  judicial  power  in  the 
trial  of  certain  political  offences,  and  sometimes  also  in  the 
decision  of  certain  civil  cases.f  The  number  of  its  mem- 
bers is  always  small. 

The  other  branch  of  the  legislature,  which  is  usually 

•  In  Massachusetts,  the  Senate  is  not  invested  with  any  administrative 
fonctionB. 

t  As  in  the  State  of  New  York. 


I      4:! 


THE  STATE. 


105 


than  that  ofthe  Hou,?  '/p  °'™  '''  "  general,  longer 
seldom  remain  in  ^  ,  "'"r"""'""'-  ^he  latter 
usnaUy  s~„X*;;eL"'^'  *""  '  ''-'  '"^  'o™- 

f«r'^evfr:S'vera!l';r'"°"  *'  ^^'^^^  "^"-'"^  «•— 
care  to  pre^^'i^  th^  ITrt 'r''™'  *«  '"^  '"t- 

and  the  other  dTm«ll      f  ^  ^'«;''™' .  ""^  ™^tocratic 
.e  m  .e  on   a  =.%o^  orrhStrVe'lrer^e;^ 

.  «      .    '"oeiaer  with  the  creation  of  a  trihnn^l  „f 
appeal  for  the  revision  of  the  laws.  '^ 

the  division  of  he  legislal^  le""  m  "JL^oIIS 
greatest  necessity.  PennsylvLia  was  the  0^0^  of  the 
nllfT^u''  ■"  «-' ""^"P'ed  to  estab'Iish  a  nSe 
nert  away  by  the  losical  consequences  of  the  principle  of 


^m 


^^ww 


.itwmmmmmimsmKm 


106 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  as  to  have  concurred  in  the 
measure:  but  the  Pennsylvanians  were  soon  obliged  to 
change  the  law,  and  to  create  two  houses.  Thus  the 
principle  of  the  division  of  the  legislative  power  was 
finally  established,  and  its  necessity  may  henceforward  be 
regarded  as  a  demonstrated  tinith.  This  theory,  nearly 
unknown  to  the  republics  of  antiquity,  —  first  introduced 
into  the  world  almost  by  accident,  Uke  so  many  other  great 
truths,  and  misunderstood  by  several  modem  nations,  — is 
at  length  become  an  axiom  in  the  political  science  of  the 
present  age. 


THE  EXECUTIVE  POWER  OP  THE  STATE. 

Office  of  Governor  in  an  American  State.— His  Relation  to  the  Legislatore. 
—  His  Rights  and  his  Duties.  —  His  Dependence  on  the  People. 

The  executive  power  of  the  State  is  represented  by  the 
Governor.  It  is  not  by  accident  that  1  have  used  this 
word;  the  Governor  represents  this  power,  although  he 
enjoys  but  a  portion  of  its  rights.  The  supreme  magis- 
trate, under  the  title  of  Governor,  is  the  official  moderator 
and  counsellor  of  the  legislature.  He  is  armed  with  a 
veto  or  suspensive  power,  which  allows  him  to  stop,  or  at 
least  to  retard,  its  movements  at  pleasure.  He  lays  the 
wants  of  the  country  before  the  legislative  body,  and  points 
out  the  means  which  he  thinks  may  be  usefully  employed 
in  providing  for  them ;  he  is  the  natural  executor  of  its 
decrees  in  all  the  undertakings  which  interest  the  nation  at 
lart^e.*  In  the  absence  of  the  legislature,  the  Governor  is 
bound  to  take  all  necessary  steps  to  guard  the  State  against 
violent  shocks  and  unforeseen  dangers. 

♦  Practically  speakinjT,  it  is  not  always  the  Governor  who  executes  the 
plans  of  the  Legislature ;  it  often  happens  that  the  latter,  in  voting  a  mons- 
ure,  names  special  agents  to  superintend  the  execution  of  it. 


POLITICAL  E 


iuC3  mon 


THE   STATE. 


107 


of  *e  r„      ""''""y  P»-er  of  the  State  i,  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Governor.     He  is  the  commander  of  the  mUitia 
and  head  of  the  armed  force.     When  the  authority  wh  ch 
.»  by  general  consent  awarded  to  the  laws  Js  dfe  Lrd  d 
the  Governor  puts  himself  at  the  head  of  the  a™lforce 
of  the  State,  to  quell  resistance  and  restore  order 

tionTf  tL  ,'  ^"?™«,'^««  ""  ^I'^e  in  the  administra- 
t.on  of  the  townships  and  counties,  except  it  be  indirectly 
m  the  nommafon  of  Justices  of  the  Pefce,  which  nomnl 
tion  he  has  not  the  power  to  cancel.* 

The  Governor  is  an  elected  magistrate,  and  is  Generally 
chosen  for  one  or  two  yea«  only;  so  that  he  alwCeon^ 
tmues  .^  stnctly  dependent  upon  the  majority  HZ 


rOUnCAL  EFFECTS  OP  DECBNTRAmED   ADMIK.STRAT.ON    D. 

THE   UNITED   STATES. 

™on.-Ato,«,..«t-*  Advanuges  of  Om  Order  of  Thinfi.  -The 

becouM  nore  DemocraUe.  -  Em»„  „f  ^j,.  Lond.tion 

Centralizatioj,  is  a  word  in  general  and  daily  use 
without  «my  precise  meaning  being  Attached  to  it.     W 
theles,,  there  exist  two  distinct  kinds  of  central^t^ 
which  ,t  »  necessary  to  discriminate  with  accural 


U 


'  I*' 


108 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


Certain  interests  are  common  to  all  parts  of  a  nation, 
such  as  the  enactment  of  its  general  laws,  and  the  main- 
tenance of  its  foreign  relations.  Other  interests  are  pe- 
culiar to  certain  parts  of  the  nation ;  such,  for  instance,  as 
the  business  of  the  several  townships.  "When  the  power 
which  directs  the  former  or  general  interests  is  concen- 
trated in  one  place  or  in  the  same  persons,  it  constitutes  a 
centralized  government.  To  concentrate  in  like  manner 
into  one  place  the  direction  of  the  latter  or  local  interests, 
constitutes  what  may  be  termed  a  centrsJizeJ  adminis- 
tration. 

Upon  some  points,  these  two  kinds  of  centrahzation  co- 
incide ;  but  by  classifying  the  objects  which  fall  more  par- 
ticularly within  the  province  of  each,  they  may  easily  be 
distinguished. 
/  It  is  evident  that  a  centralized  government  acquires 
»  immense  power  when  united  to  centralized  administration. 
Thus  combined,  it  accustoms  men  to  set  their  own  will 
habitually  and  completely  aside;  to  submit,  not  only  for 
once,  or  upon  one  point,  but  in  every  respect,  and  at  all 
times.  Not  only,  therefore,  does  this  union  of  power  sub- 
due them  compulsorily,  but  it  affects  their  ordinary  habits ; 
it  isolates  them,  and  then  influences  each  separately. 

These  two  kinds  of  centralization  mutually  assist  and 
attract  each  other ;  but  they  must  not  be  supposed  to  be 
inseparable.  It  is  impossible  to  imagine  a  more  completely 
centralized  government  than  that  which  existed  in  France 
under  Louis  XIV.;  when  the  same  individual  was  the 
author  and  the  interpreter  of  the  laws,  and  the  representa- 
tive of  France  at  home  and  abroad,  he  was  justified  in 
asserting  that  he  constituted  the  state.  Nevertheless,  the 
administration  was  much  less  centralized  under  Louis  XIV. 
than  it  is  at  the  present  day. 

In  England,  the  centralization  of  the  government  is 
carried   to   great   perfection;   the   state  has   the  compact 


THE  STATE. 


109 


ngor  of  one  man,  and  its  wiU  puts  immense  masses  in 
motion,  and  turns  its  whole  power  where  it  pleases.     But 
England,  which  has  done  so  great  things  for  the  last  fifty 
ye^s,  has  never  centralized  its  administration.     Indeed  I 
cannot  conceive  that  a  nation  can  live  and  prosper  without  1 
a  powerful  centralization  of  government.     But  I  am  of  ' 
opmioii  that  a  centralized  administration  is  fit  only  to  ener-f 
vate  tlie  nations  in  which  it  exists,  by  incessantly  dimin-l 
ishmg  their  local  spirit.     Although  such  an  administration 
can  bnng  together  at  a  given  moment,  on  a  given  point, 
aU  the  disposable  resources  of  a  people,  it  injures  the  re- 
newal of  those  resources.     It  may  insure  a  victory  in  the 
hour  of   strife,   but  it  gradually  relaxes   the  sinews   of 
strength.     It  may  help  admirably  the  transient  greatness 
of  a  man,  but  not  the  durable  prosperity  of  a  nation 

Observe,  that  whenever  it  is  said  that  a  state  cannot  act 
because  it  is  not  centralized,  it  is  the  centralization  of  the 
government  which  is  spoken  of.     It  is  frequently  asserted, 
and  we  assent  to  the  proposition,  that  the  German  empire 
has  never  been  able  to  bring  all  its  powers  into  action. 
But  the  reason  was,  that  the  state  was  never  able  to  en- 
force obedience  to  its  general  laws;  the  several  members 
of  that  great  body  always  claimed  the  right,  or  found  the 
means,  of  refusing  then-  co-operation  to  the  representatives 
of  the  common  authority,  even  in  the  affairs  which  con- 
cerned the  mass  of  the  people;  in  other  words,  there  was 
no  centrahzation  of  government.      The  same  remark  is 
applicable  to  the  Middle  Ages ;  the  cause  of  all  the  mis- 
eries of  feudal  society  was,  that  the  control,  not  only  of 
administration,  but  of  government,  was  divided  amongst  a 
thousand  hands,  and  broken  up  in  a  thousand  difibrent 
ways.     The  want  of  a  centralized  government  prevented 
the  nations  of  Europe  from  advancing  with  energy  in  any 
straightforward  course.  ^ 

We  have  shown  that,  in  the  United  States,  there  is  no 


■I 


■•  ■  IS 


mkMM»iimi&Mm^>!A< 


110 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


centralized  administration,  and  no  hierarchy  of  pubhc  func- 
tionaries.    Local  authority  has  been  carried  farther  than 
any  European  nation  could  endure  without  great  incon- 
venience, and  it  has  even  produced  some  disadvantageous 
consequences  in  America.     But  in  the  United  States,  the 
centralization  of  the  government  ^'s  perfect ;  and  it  would 
be  easy  to  prove  that  the  national  power  is  more  concen- 
trated there  than  it  has  ever  been  in  the  old  nations  of 
Europe.     Not  only  is  there  but   one  legislative  body  in 
each  State,  —  not  only  does  there  exist  but  one  source  of 
political  authority,  —  but  numerous  assembhes  in  districts 
or  counties  have  not,  in  general,  been  multiphed,  lest  they 
should  be  tempted  to  leave  their  administrative  duties  and 
interfere  with  the  government.     In  America,  the  legisla- 
ture of  each  State  is  supreme;   nothing  can  impede  its 
authority,  —  neither  privileges,  nor  local  imnmnities,  nor 
personal  influence,  nor  even  the  empire  of  reason,  since  it 
represents  that  majority  which  claims  to  be  the  sole  organ 
of  reason.     Its  own  determination  is,  therefore,  the  only 
limit  to  its  action.     In  juxtaposition  with  it,  and  under  its 
immediate  control,  is  the  representative  of  the  executive 
power,  whose  duty  it  is  to  constrain  the  refractory  to  sub- 
mit by  superior  force.     The  only  symptom  of  weakness 
Hes  in  certain  details  of  the  action  of  the  government. 
The  American  republics  have  no  standing  armies  to  in- 
timidate a  discontented  minority ;  but  as  no  minority  has 
as  yet  been  reduced  to  declare  open  war,  the  necessity  of 
an  army  has  not  been  felt.     The  State  usually  employs  the 
officers  of  the  township  or  the  county  to  deal  with  the  citi- 
zens.     Thus,  for  instance,  in  New   England,  the   town 
assessor  fixes  the  rate  of  taxes ;  the  town  collector  receives 
them  ;  the  town  treasurer  transmits  the  amount  to  the  pub- 
hc treasiiry ;  and  the  disputes  which  may  arise  are  brought 
before  the  ordinary  courts  of  justice.     This  method  of  col- 
lectins  taxes  is  slow  as  well  as  inconvenient,  and  it  would 


-4W><|«»MwdiMBei^^. 


THE  STATE. 


Ill 


prove  a  perpetual  hindrance  to  a  government  whose  peeu 
n«U7  demands  were  large.    It  UdesiraUe  that,  r  what 

be  served  by  officers  of  its  own,  appointed  by  itself  re- 
movable  at. ts  pWe.  and  accustomed  to  rajJd  m  L^ 
of  proceedmg.  But  it  will  always  be  easy  for  the dt™^ 
government,  organized  as  it  is  i„  Ameriia,  to  im  oduTe 

h.Tl^^"^  "^  ^  centralized  government  will  not,  then  as 
has  often  been  asserted,  prove  the  destruction  of  thTr^ 
pubhcs  of  the  New  World;  far  from  the  American  go^ 

nereatler  that  they  are  too  much  so.  The  leeislative 
bod.es  d^uly  encroach  upon  the  authority  of  th    g  le™ 

tTon  1,7  *'"''"'=^'  "'^^  *"'  »f  *^  ^--h  Conve" 

t.on,  .s  to  appropriate  it  entirely  to  themselves.     The  social 

power    thus    centralized    is    constantly    changin.    hid 
because  .t  .s  subordinate  to  the  power  of  thrpeVe      It' 
often  forgets  the  maxims  of  wisdom  and  foresight    n  the 
consc.ousness  of  its  strength.     Hence  arises  its  Zl 
Its  v.gor  and  not  .ts  impotence,  wiU  probably  be  the  ca^^e 
of  .ts  ulbmate  destruction.  "le  cause 

The  system  of   decentralized  administration   produce, 
eve..l  d.ffere„t  effects  in  America.    The  Americiis  'em 
to  me  to  have  outstepped  the  limits  of  sound  policy   to 
mlatm,  the  administration  of  the  government:  for  orde" 

tance.      As  the  State  has  no  administrative  ftinctioniies 
•  The  authority  which  represents  the  State  outhi  nof  r  .i.-  i 


ii'linimillilriiiirilii   II        'r' 1 1  mill 


MieSsiis^iSyii^lii^iiaiittM--,-- 


112 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA- 


of  its  own,  stationed  on  different  points  of  its  territory,  to 
whom  it  can  give  a  common  impulse,  the  consequence  is, 
that  it  rarely  attempts  to  issue  any  general  police  regula- 
tions. The  want  of  these  regulations  is  severely  felt,  and 
is  frequently  observed  by  Europeans.  The  appearance  of 
disorder  which  prevails  on  the  surface  leads  him  at  first  to 
imagine  that  society  is  in  a  state  of  anarchy :  nor  does  he 
perceive  his  mistake  till  he  has  gone  deeper  into  the  sub- 
ject. Certain  undertakings  are  of  importance  to  the  whole 
State ;  but  they  cannot  be  put  in  execution,  because  there 
is  no  State  administration  to  direct  them.  Abandoned 
to  the  exertions  of  the  towns  or  counties,  under  the  care 
of  elected  and  temporary  agents,  they  lead  to  no  result,  or 
at  least  to  no  durable  benefit. 

The  partisans  of  centralization  in  Europe  are  wont  to 
maintain  that  the  government  can  administer  the  affairs  of 
each  locality  better  than  the  citizens  could  do  it  for  them- 
selves :  this  may  be  true,  when  the  central  power  is  en- 
lightened, and  the  local  authorities  are  ignorant ;  when  it 
is  alert,  and  they  are  slow ;  v/hen  it  is  accustomed  to  act, 
and  they  to  obey.  Indeed,  it  is  evident  that  this  double 
tendency  must  augment  with  the  increase  of  centralization, 
and  that  the  readiness  of  the  one  and  the  incapacity  of  the 
others  must  become  more  and  more  prominent.  But  I 
deny  that  it  is  so,  when  the  people  are  as  enhghtened,  as 
awake  to  their  interests,  and  as  accustomed  to  reflect  on 

township  1  Nothing  of  the  kind,  however,  exists  in  America :  there  is  noth- 
ing above  the  county  courts,  wliich  have,  as  it  were,  only  an  incidental  cog- 
nizance of  the  administrative  offences  they  ouglit  to  repress. 

[Mr.  Spencer  properly  remarks,  that  "tuch  an  agent  as  the  author  here 
Buggesis  would  soon  come  to  be  considered  a  public  informer,  the  most  odi- 
ous of  all  characters  in  the  United  States ;  and  he  would  lose  all  efficiency 
and  strength."  Whereas,  a^  it  is,  the  constant  presence  of  the  district  attor- 
ney, and  the  meeting  of  a  grand  jury  three  or  four  times  a  year  in  every 
county,  to  whom  every  aggrieved  person  has  free  access,  are  sufficient  pre- 
cautions against  the  misconduct  or  neglect  of  the  local  officers.  —  Am.  Ed.} 


i!i»»i:-,s;, ,  ^3»Bli»*^,!BSS^»w;;J«i«sJk■MS»M■W^ 


THE  STATE. 


113 


them,  a^  the  Americans  are.     I  am  persuaded,  on  the  con- 
traiy,  that,  m  this  case,  the  coUective  strength  of  the  citi- 
zens wiU  always  conduce  more  efficaciously  to  the  public 
welfare  than  the  authority  of  the  government.     I  know  it 
IS  difficult  to  point  out  with  certainty  the  means  of  arous- 
ing a  sleeping  population,  and  of  giving  it  passions  and 
knowledge  which  it  does  not  possess ;    it  is,  I  am  well 
aware,  mi  arduous  task  to  persuade  men  to  busy  themselves 
about  theu-  own  affairs.     It  would  frequently  be  easier  to 
interest  them  in  the  punctiHos  of  court  etiquette,  than  in 
the  repairs  of  their  common  dwelHng.     But  whenever  a 
central  adminislxation  affects  completely  to  supersede  the 
persons  most  interested,  I  beheve  that  it  is  either  misled,  or 
desu-ous  to  mislead.     However  enlightened  and  skilful  a  ^ 
central  power  may  be,  it  cannot  of  itself  embrace  aU  the  ( 
details  of  the  life  of  a  great  nation.     Such  vigilance  ex-  ^ 
ceeds  the  powers  of  man.     And  when  it  attempts  unaided 
to  create  and  set  in  motion  so  many  compUcated  springs,  it 
must  submit  to  a  verj  imperfect  result,  or  exhaust  itself  in 
bootless  effiarts. 

Centralization  easily  succeeds,  indeed,  in  subjecting  the 
external  actions  of  men  to  a  certain  uniformity,  which  we 
come  at  last  to  love  for  its  own  sake,  independently  of  the 
objects  to  which  it  is  applied,  like  those  devotees  who  wor- 
ship the  statue,  and  forget  the  deity  it  represents.     Cen- 
trahzation  imparts  without  difficulty  an  admirable  regular- 
ity to  the  routine  of  business ;  provides  skilfully  for  the 
details  of  the  social  police ;  represses  small  disorders  and 
petty  misdemeanors ;  maintains  society  in  a  statu  quo  alfke 
secure  from  improvement  and  decHne  ;  and  perpetuates  a 
drowsy  regul  irity  in  the  conduct  of  affairs,  which  the  head, 
ot  the  adimmstration  are  wont  to  call  good  order  and  pab- 
hc  tranquilUty  ;  ^'  m  sl.ort,  it  excels  in  prevention,  but  not| 

*  China  appears  to  m«  to  preaent  the  inost  perfect  instance  of  that  spe-' 
ciee  of  well-being  wliich  a  highly  centralized  administration  may  furnish  to 


114 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


in  action.*  Its  force  deserts  it,  when  society  is  to  be  pro- 
foundly  mo^ed,  or  accelerated  in  its  course ;  and  if  once 
the  co-operation  of  private  citizens  is  necessary  to  the  fiir- 
therFJice  of  its  measures,  the  secret  of  its  impotence  is  dis- 
closed. Even  whilst  the  centralized  power,  in  its  despair, 
invokes  the  assistance  of  the  citizens,  it  says  to  them:  "You 
shall  act  just  as  I  please,  as  much  as  I  please,  and  in  the 
direction  which  I  please.  You  are  to  take  charge  of  the 
details,  without  aspiring  to  guide  the  system ;  you  are  to 
work  in  darkness ;  and  afterwards  you  may  judge  my 
work  by  its  results."  These  are  not  the  conditions  on 
which  the  alliance  of  the  human  will  is  to  be  obtained ;  it 
must  be  free  in  its  gait,  and  responsible  for  its  acts,  or 
(such  is  the  constitution  of  man)  the  citizen  had  rather 
remain  a  passive  spectator,  than  a  dependent  actor,  in 
schemes  with  which  he  is  unacquainted. 

It  is  undeniable,  that  the  want  of  those  uniform  regular 
tions  which  control  the  conduct  of  every  inhabitant  of 
France,  is  not  unfrequently  felt  in  the  United  States. 
Gross  instances  of  social  indifference  and  neglect  are  to 
be  met  with ;  and  from  time  to  time,  disgraceful  blemishes 
are  seen,  in  complete  contrast  with  the  surrounding  civih- 
zation.  Useful  undertakings,  which  cannot  succeed  with- 
out perpetual  attention  and  rigorous  exactitude,  are  fre- 
quently abandoned;  for  in  America,  as  well  as  in  other 
countries,  the  people  proceed  by  sudden  impulses  and 
momentary  exertions.  The  European,  accustomed  to  find 
a  functionary  always  at  hand  to  interfere  with  all  he  un- 
its subjects.  Travellers  assure  us  that  the  Chinese  have  tranquillity  without 
happiness,  industry  without  improvement,  stability  without  strength^  and 
public  order  without  public  morality.  The  condition  of  society  there  is 
always  tolerable,  never  excellent.  I  imagine  tliat,  when  China  is  opened 
to  European  observation,  it  will  be  found  to  contain  the  most  perfect  model 
of  a  centralized  administration  which  exists  in  the  universe. 

*  This  is  a  lively  and  faithful  description  of  the  system  which  Dickons  has 
taught  us  to  stigmatize  by  the  name  of  "  red-tape."  —  Am.  Ed. 


i.>iWWA^«>:f^iJ^^.ti.^«.jU^MM^Ai>^^ 


3*^sse^*..t 


THE  STATE. 


115 


dertakes,  reconcaes  himself  with  difficulty  to  the  complex 
mechanism  of  the  administration  of  the  townships.     In 
general,  ,t  may  be  affirmed  that  the  lesser  details  of  the 
police  which  render  life  easy  and  comfortable,  are  neglect- 
ed m  America,  but  that  the  essential  guaranties  of  man  in 
society  are  as  strong  there  as  elsewhere.     In  America,  the 
power  which  conducts  the  administration  is  far  less  regular, 
ess  enlightened,  and  less  skilful,  but  a  hundred-fold  greater 
than  m  Europe.     In  no  country  in  the  world,  do  the  citi- 
zens make  such  exertions  for  the  common  weal.     I  know 
of  no  people  who  have  established  schools  so  numerous  and 
efficacious,  places  of  public  worship  better  suited  to  the 
wants  of  the  inhabitant,  or  roads  kept  in  better  repair. 
Umformity  or  permanence  of  design,  the  minute  arrange- 
ment of  details,*  and  the  perfection  of  administrative  sys- 
tem, must  not  be  sought  for  in  the  United  States :  what 

*  A  M^ter  of  talent,  who,  in  a  comparison  of  the  finances  of  France  with 
hose  of  the  United  States,  has  proved  that  ingenuity  cannot  always  supply 

IT  fi  r.^''^'  "'  '^^^' J"^*'^  ^^''^''^^  *h«  ^--ans  for  he 

Bort  of  confosjon  which  existe  in  the  accounts  of  the  expenditure  in  the  town- 
Bhips;  and  after  gmng  the  model  of  a  Departmental  Budget  in  France  he 
adds:   "We  are  indebted  to  centralization,  that  admirabfe  invention  of  a 
great  man.  for  the  order  and  method  which  prevail  alike  in  all  the  municipal 
budgets,  from  the  largest  city  to  the  humblest  commune."    Whatever  mav  be 
my  admiration  of  ..is  result,  when  I  see  the  cnmunes  of  Fran^  witTThe 
xce  lent  system  of  accounts,  plunged  into  the  grossest  ignorance  of  thei 
tnie  merest  and  abandoned  to  so  incorrigible  an  apathy  that  thev  seem  to 
.getate  rather  than  to  live  ;  when,  on  the  other  hand,  I  observe  the  activity 
the  mformataon.  and  the  spirit  of  enterprise  in  those  American  townsS 
whose  budgets  are  neither  methodical  nor  unifonn;  I  see  that  societyTet  i 
l^ways  at  work.     I  am  str«k  by  the  spectacle .-  for  to  my  mind,  the  end  of 
^od  government  .s  to  insure  the  welfare  of  a  people,  and  not  me;ely  to  es  Jb 
sh  order  m  the  midst  of  its  misery.     I  am  the^foi.  led  to  suppose  that 
he  prospenty  of  the  American  townships  and  the  apparent  con  Jon  of  thel 
nances,  the  distress  of  the  French  commune  and  the  perfection  of   h 

of  a  good  which  IS  umt.3d  with  so  many  evils,  and  I  am  not  averse  to  an  e.^1 
which  ,8  compensated  by  so  many  benefits. 


'4 

'Mr 


116 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


we  find  there  is,  the  presence  of  a  power  which,  if  it  is 
somewhat  wild,  is  at  least  robust,  and  an  existence  check- 
ered with  accidents,  indeed,  but  full  of  animation  and  ef- 
fort. 

Granting,  for  an  instant,  that  the  villages  and  counties 
of  the  United  States  would  be  more  usefully  governed  by  a 
central  authority,  which  they  had  never  seen,  than  by  func- 
tionaries taken  from  among  them, — admitting,  for  the  sake 
of  argument,  that  there  would  be  more  security  in  Amer- 
ica, and  the  resources  of  society  would  be  better  employed 
there,  if  the  whole  administration  centred  in  a  single  arm, 
—  still  the  political  advantages  which  the  Americans  derive 
from  their  decentraUzed  system  would  induce  me  to  prefer 
it  to  the  contrary  plan.  It  profits  me  but  httle,  after  all, 
that  a  vigilant  authority  always  protects  the  tranquillity  of 
my  pleasures,  &nd  constantly  averts  all  dangers  fi-om  my 
path,  without  my  care  or  concern,  if  this  same  authority  is 
the  absolute  master  of  my  liberty  and  my  hfe,  and  if  it  so 
monopohzes  movement  and  life,  that  when  it  languishes 
everything  languishes  around  it,  that  when  it  sleeps  every- 
thing must  sleep,  and  that  when  it  dies  the  state  itself  must 
perish. 

There  are  countries  in  Europe,  where  the  natives  con- 
sider themselves  as  a  kind  of  settlers,  indifferent  to  the  fate 
of  the  spot  which  they  inhabit.  The  greatest  changes  are 
effected  there  v/ithout  their  concurrence,  and  (unless  chance 
may  have  apprised  them  of  the  event)  without  their  knowl- 
edge ;  nay,  more,  the  condition  of  his  village,  the  police  of 
his  street,  the  repairs  of  the  church  or  the  parsonage,  do 
not  concern  him ;  for  he  looks  upon  all  these  things  as  un- 
connected with  himself,  and  as  the  property  of  a  powerftil 
stranser  whom  he  calls  the  government.  He  has  only  a 
life-interest  in  these  possessions,  without  the  spirit  of  owner- 
ship or  any  ideas  of  improvement.  This  want  of  interest 
in  his  own  affairs  goes  so  far,  that  if  his  own  safety  or  that 


THE  STATE. 


117 


Of  his  chfldren  is  at  last  endangered,  instead  of  ti-vine  to 
avert  the  peril,  he  wiU  fold  hi,  arms,  and  waittill'tl  e 
^vhole  nabon  comes  to  his  aid.  This  man,  who  hL  so 
completely  sacrificed  his  own  fi.e  will,  does  notrmore'ha" 
any  other  person,  love  obedience;  he  cowers    7s^" 

s^frofa'''""'  °?r'  •""  ''«  ''^'^^  *«  ■-  -  *le 
pmt  of  a  conquered  foe,  as  soon  as  its  superior  force  is 

^v,Mn.w„:  he  perpetually  oscillates  between'servit„rand 

When  a  nation  has  arrived  at  this  state,  it  must  either 
change  its  customs  and  its  laws,  or  nerish    fJ^T 
of  public  virtues  is  dried  ud    L  t^    ?  '•/  '"""^'^ 

subjects,  it  has  no  ci&^s      Cb  ^  •'    ""^^  ™"'^" 

1         \     •"  uo  citizens.     Such  communities  are  a  nnti, 
ral  prey  to  foreign  conquests;  and  if  they  do  n^   thX 
disappear  from  the  scene,  it  is  only  becau^se  they  arTsuf 
rounded  by  other  nations  similar  or  inferior  to  ZZllZ- 

patnotism,  and  an  involuntary  pride  in  the  name  of  their 
country,  or  a  vague  reminiscence  of  its  bygone  fZ!  IfflT 
to^ve  them  a«  impulse  of  self.preservat^:„  '  ^^"^ 

Nor  can  the  prodigious  exertions  made  by  certain  n»t;n„= 
to  defend  a  county  in  which  they  had  lived,  o  ^sp  I 
as  strangers,  be  adduced  in  favor  of  such  a  ystem  •  folt 

wa  rehgion.  The  permanence,  the  glory,  or  the  prosneritv 
of  fte  nation  were  become  parts  of  Ihei;  kith ;  ZtT 
fending  then-  county,  they  defended  also  that  Hol^  ct 
of  which  they  were  all  citizens.  The  Turkish  tribZ^  ^ 
never  taken  an  active  share  in  the  conducSetrffl™ 

fX  In  the  „   ^  ^vere  triumphs  of  the  Mohammedan 

"»'™  '^  aepartmg,  and  despotism  only  remain, 
Montesquieu,  who  attributed  to  absolute  power  LIX 
■ty  peculiar  to  itself,  did  it,  as  I  conceive'  an  ^deTetd 


!    I 


118 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


honor ;  for  despotism,  taken  by  itself,  can  maintain  nothing 
durable.  On  close  inspection,  we  shall  find  that  religion, 
and  not  fear,  has  ever  been  the  cause  of  the  long-lived 
prosperity  of  an  absolute  government.  Do  what  you  may, 
there  is  no  true  power  among  men  except  in  the  free  union 
of  their  will ;  and  patriotism  or  religion  are  .he  only  two 
motives  in  the  world  which  can  long  urge  all  the  people 
towards  the  same  end. 

Laws  cannot  rekindle  an  extinguished  faith;  but  men 
may  be  interested  by  the  laws  in  the  fate  of  their  country. 
It  depends  upon  the  laws  to  awaken  and  direct  the  vague 
impulse  of  patriotism,  which  never  abandons  the  human 
heart ;  and  if  it  be  connected  with  the  thoughts,  the  pas- 
sions, and  the  daily  habits  of  life,  it  may  be  consohdated 
into  a  durable  and  rational  sentiment.  Let  it  not  be  said 
that  it  is  too  late  to  make  the  experiment ;  for  nations  do 
not  grow  old  as  men  do,  and  every  fresh  generation  is  a 
new  people  ready  for  the  care  of  the  legislator. 

It  is  not  the  administrative,  but  the  political  effects  of 
decentralization,  that  I  most  admire  in  America.  In  the 
United  States,  the  interests  of  the  country  are  everywhere 
kept  in  view  ;  they  are  an  object  of  solicitude  to  the  people 
of  the  whole  Union,  and  every  citizen  is  as  warmly  attached 
to  them  as  if  they  were  his  own.  He  takes  pride  in  the 
glory  of  his  nation  ;  he  boasts  of  its  success,  to  which  he 
conceives  himself  to  have  contributed ;  and  he  rejoices  in 
the  general  prosperity  by  which  he  profits.  The  feeUng 
he  entertains  toward  the  state  is  analogous  to  that  which 
unites  him  to  his  family,  and  it  is  by  a  kind  of  selfishness 
that  he  interests  himself  in  the  welfare  of  his  country. 
/  To  the  European,  a  public  officer  represents  a  superior 
force :  to  an  American,  he  represents  a  right.  In  America, 
then,  it  may  be  said  that  no  one  renders  obedience  to  man, 
but  to  justice  and  to  law.  If  the  opinion  which  the  citizen 
entertains  of  himself  is  exaggerated,  it  is  at  least  salutary ; 


numerous 


*.  »*ai«u.R,.«"iffi«*«ss 


THE  STATE. 


119 


he  unhesitatrnglj  confides  in  his  own  powers,  which  appear 
to  him  to  be  all-sufficient.      When  a  private  individual 
meditates  an  undertaking,  however  directly  connected  it 
may  be  with  the  welfare  of  society,  he  never  thinks  of 
soliciting  the  co-operation  of  the  government;  but  he  pub- 
lishes his  plan  offers  to  execute  it,  courts  the  assistance  of 
other  individuals  a.id  struggles  manfully  against  all  obsta- 
cles    Undoubtedly  he  is  often  less  successful  than  the  state 
might  have  been  in  his  position;  but  in  the  end,  the  sum 
ot  these  p;    ate  undertakings  far  exceeds  aU  that  the  eov 
ernment  could  have  done.  ^ 

As  the  administrative  authority  is  within  the  reach  of ' 
^e  citizens,  whom  in  some  degree  it  represents,  it  excites 
neither  their  jealousy  nor  hatred:  as  its  resources  are  limit- 
ed every  one  feels  that  he  must  not  rely  solely  on  its  aid. 
Thus  when  the  administration  thinks  fit  to  act  within  its 
own  hmits.  It  IS  not  abandoned  to  itself,  as  in  Eurr.e;  the 
duties  of  pnvate  citizens  are  not  supposed  to  have  lapsed 
because  the  state  has  come  into  action  ;  but  every  one  is 
ready,  on  the  contrary,  to  guide  and  support  it.     This 
action  of  mdividuals,  joined  to  that  of  the  public  authori- 
les,  frequentiy  accomplishes  what  the  most  energetic  cen- 
trahzed  admmistration  would  be  imable  to  do.* 

It  would  be  easy  to  adduce  several  facts  in  proof  of 
what  I  advance,  but  I  had  rather  give  only  one,  with 

which  tiie  authorities  have  at  their  disposal  for  the  discov- 
ery of  cnmes  and  the  arrest  of  criminals  are  few.  A  state 
pohce  does  not  exist,  and  passports  are  miknown.     The 

that  of  France;  the  magistrates  and  public  agents  are  not 
numerous ;  they  do  not  always  initiate  the  measures  for 
axrestmg  the  guilty ;  and  the  examinations  of  prisoners  are 
rapid  and  oral.      Yet  I  believe  that  in  no  country  doe! 

*  See  Appeidix  I 


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120 


DEMOCRACY  IH  AMERICA. 


crime  more  rarely  elude  punislunent.  The  reason  is,  that 
every  one  conceives  himself  to  be  interested  in  furnishing 
evidence  of  the  crime,  and  in  seizing  the  delinquent. 
During  my  stay  in  the  United  States,  I  witnessed  the 
spontaneous  formation  of  committees  in  a  county  for  the 
pursuit  and  prosecution  of  a  man  who  had  committed  a 
great  crime.  In  Europe,  a  criminal  is  an  unhappy  man 
who  is  struggling  for  his  life  against  the  agents  of  power, 
whilst  the  people  are  merely  a  spectator  of  the  conflict :  in 
America,  he  is  looked  upon  as  an  enemy  of  the  himaan 
race,  and  the  whole  of  mankind  is  against  him. 

I  believe  that  provincial  institutions  are  useful  to  all 
nations,  but  nowhere  do  they  appear  to  me  to  be  more 
necessary  than  amongst  a  democratic  people.  In  an  aris- 
tocracy, order  can  always  be  maintained  in  the  midst  of 
liberty ;  and  as  the  rulers  have  a  great  deal  to  lose,  order 
is  to  them  a  matter  of  great  interest.  In  hke  manner,  an 
aristocracy  protects  the  people  from  the  excesses  of  des- 
potism, because  it  always  possesses  an  organized  power 
ready  to  resist  a  despot.  But  a  democracy  without  pro- 
vincial institutions  has  no  security  against  these  evils. 
How  can  a  populace,  unaccustomed  to  freedom  in  small 
concerns,  learn  to  use  it  temperately  in  great  affairs? 
What  resistance  can  be  offered  to  tyranny  in  a  country 
where  each  individual  is  weak,  and  where  the  citizens  are 
not  united  by  any  conmion  interest?  Those  who  dread 
'the  hcense  of  the  mob,  and  those  who  fear  absolute  power, 
ought  alike  to  desire  the  gradual  development  of  provincial 

hberties. 

I  am  also  convinced,  that  democratic  nations  are  most 
Ukely  to  fall  beneath  the  yoke  of  a  centraUzed  administrar 
tion,  for  several  reasons,  amongst  which  is  the  following. 

The  constant  tendency  of  these  nations  is  to  concentrate 
all  the  strength  of  the  government  in  the  hands  of  the 
only  power  which  directly  represents  the  people ;  because, 


THE   STATE. 


121 


beyond  the  people  nothing  is  to  be  perceived  but  a  ma.s 
of  equal  individuals.  But  when  the  same  power  already 
ha.  all  the  attributes  of  government,  it  can  scarcely  Z 
frain   from  penetrating  into  the  details  of  the  adminis- 

t?plf "'  T.  T  °PP"^^^^*y  «^  d«i"g  «o  is  sure  to  present 
Itself  in  the  long  run,  as  wa.  the  case  in  France.     In  the 
French  Revohition,  there  were  two  impulses  in  opposite 
directions,  which  must  never  be  confomided;  the  one  wa. 
favorable  to  hberty,  the  other  to  despotism.     Under  the 
ancient  monarchy,  the  king  was  the  sole  author  of  the 
aws;  and  below  the  power  of  the  sovereign,  certain  ves- 
tiges  of  provmcial  mstitutions,  half  destroyed,  were  stiU  dis- 
tmguishable.     These  provincial  institutions  were  incohe- 
rent, lU  arranged,  and  frequently  absurd;  in  the  hands  of 
the  aristocracy,  they  had  sometimes  been  converted  into 
instruments  of  oppression.     The  Revolution  declared  itself 
he  enemy  at  once  of  royalty  and  of  provincial  institutions; 
it  confomided  m  mdiscriminate  hatred  aU  that  had  pre^ 
ceded  It, -despotic  power  and  the  checks  to  its  abuses; 
and  Its  tendency  was  at  once  to  republicanize  and  to  cen- 
tralize.     This  double  character  of  the  French  Revolution 
's  a  fact  wbch  ha.  been  adroitly  handled  by  the  friends  of 
absolute  power.     Can  they  be  accused  of  laboring  in  the 
cause  of  despotism,  when  they  are  defending  that  central- 
ized  administration  which  was  one  of  the  great  innovations 
of   he  Revolution?*     In  this  manner,  popularity  may  be 
united  with  hostihty  to  the  rights  of  the  peoplef  and'^the 
secret  slave  of  tyranny  may  be   the  professed  lover  of 
h'eedom. 

I  have  visited  the  two  nations  in  which  the  system  of 
provincial  hberty  has  been  most  perfectly  established,  and 
I  have  hstened  to  the  opinions  of  different  parties  in  those 
countnes.  In  America,  I  met  with  men  who  secretly 
aspu-ed  to  destroy  the  democratic  institutions  of  the  Union 

*  See  Appendix  K. 


^'1 
1^ 


!''4 


122 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


% 


in  England,  I  found  others  who  openly  attacked  the  aris- 
tocracy ;  but  I  found  no  one  who  did  not  regard  provincial 
independence  as  a  great  good.  In  both  countries,  I  heard 
a  thousand  different  causes  assigned  for  the  evils  of  the 
state  ;  but  the  local  system  was  never  mentioned  amongst 
them.  I  heard  citizens  attribute  the  power  and  prosperity 
of  their  country  to  a  multitude  of  reasons ;  but  they  all 
placed  the  advantages  of  local  institutions  in  the  foremost 
rank. 

Am  I  to  suppose  that  when  men,  who  are  naturally  so 
divided  on  religious  opinions  and  on  poUtical  theories,  agree 
on  one  point,  (and  that  one  which  they  can  best  judge,  as 
it  is  one  of  which  they  have  daily  experience,)  they  are  all 
in  error  ?  The  only  nations  which  deny  the  utility  of  pro- 
vincial liberties  are  those  which  have  fewest  of  them ;  m 
other  words,  those  only  censure  the  institution  who  do  not 
know  it. 


JDDICUI,  POWEB  IN  THE   UNITED  STATES. 


123 


CHAPTER    VI. 

JroiOIAI.  POWEB  IN  THE  DNITED  STATES,  ANd"  ITS  INFLU. 
ENCE  ON  POimoAI,  SOOffiir. 

I  tolll^- W*  '\"^''*  *^  ■l«™'<'«^Pa«te  chapter 

Aeb-n^!  -::?'«,  -"^""'"^  °^  *"  ^"*«»  State,,  Lt 
then-  great  pohhcal  unportance  should  be  lessened  h  the 

n»aer  s  ^es  by  a  B.erely  incidental  mention  of  Them 

Confederation;,    have   existed    in   other  conntries    Se 

America;  I  have  seen  republics  elsewhere  than  upon    fa! 

shores  of  the  New  World  alone:  the  .^presentatirsTstfm 

IrrtT'  ''"^"  '^-P'^'^  '"  "™«^  states    ?e: 
rope    but  I  am  not  aware  that  any  nation  of  the  elobe 

united  fetates  is  the  mstitution  which  a  strantrpr  h«.  ,-u 
»  diiBcidty  in  unde.tanding."  He"3  ^.  at 

C'^v^and  f  'T'1,  "  *^  P""''''''^  occurrences" 
W  ^{'   "  .       "*'"™"y  '=<'"<='"^«  *at,  in  the  United 

u^^deL^wfrn  r  '■"''•^^'"  I"""'^^  fimctionJ^ 
nevertheless  when  he  examines  the  nature  of  the  tribu- 
nals, t%  offer  at  the  first  glance  nothmg  which  is  con- 
tn-7  to  the  usual  habits  and  privUeges  ff  those  ^L 


i  s 


si"-f-'  1 1 


124 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


and  the  magistrates  seem  to  him  to  interfere  in  public 
affairs  only  by  chance,  but  by  a  chance  which  recurs 
every  day. 

When  the  Parliament  of  Paris  remonstrated,  or  refused 
to  register  an  edict,  or  when  it  summoned  a  functionary 
accused  of  malversation  to  its  bar,  its  pohtical  influence  as 
a  judicial  body  was  clearly  visible ;  but  nothing  of  the  kind 
is  to  be  seen  in  the  United  States.  The  Americans  have 
retained  all  the  ordinary  characteristics  of  judicial  author- 
ity, and  have  carefully  restricted  its  action  to  the  ordinary 
circle  of  its  ftmctions. 

The  first  characteristic  of  judicial  power  in  all  nations  is 
the  duty  of  arbitration.  But  rights  must  be  contested  ui 
order  to  warrant  the  interference  of  a  tribunal ;  and  an 
action  must  be  brought  before  the  decision  of  a  judge  can 
be  had.  As  long,  therefore,  as  a  law  is  uncontested,  the 
judicial  authority  is  not  called  upon  to  discuss  it,  and  it 
may  exist  without  being  perceived.  When  a  judge  in  a 
given  case  attacks  a  law  relating  to  that  case,  he  extends 
the  circle  of  his  customary  duties,  without,  however,  step- 
ping beyond  it,  since  he  is  in  some  measure  obhged  to 
decide  upon  the  law  in  order  to  decide  the  case.  But  if 
he  pronounces  upon  a  law  without  proceeding  from  a  case, 
he  clearly  steps  beyond  his  sphere,  and  invades  that  of  the 
legislative  authority. 

The  second  characteristic  of  judicial  power  is,  that  it 
pronounces  on  special  cases,  and  not  upon  general  princi- 
ples. If  a  judge,  in  deciding  a  particular  point,  destroys  a 
general  principle  by  passing  a  judgment  which  tends  to 
reject  all  the  inferences  from  that  principle,  and  conse- 
quently to  annul  it,  he  remains  within  the  ordinary  limits 
of  his  functions.  But  if  he  direcdy  attacks  a  general  prin- 
ciple without  having  a  particular  case  in  view,  he  leaves 
the  circle  in  which  all  nations  have  agreed  to  confine  his 
authority;  he  assumes  a  more  important,  and  perhaps  a 


more  us( 

ceases  to 

The  t 

it  can  or 

phrase,  ij 

teristic  is 

standing 

essential. 

action;  it 

result,     y 

ishes  the « 

ready  to  r 

is  preparet 

hunt  out  ^ 

A  judicial 

usurp  the 

do  violence 

The  An 

characteris 

can  only  p 

he  is  conve 

until  the  ( 

His  positio 

magistrates 

immense  pi 

the  sphere 

the  same  as 

a  power  wl 

difference  li( 

acknowledg( 

ions  on  the 

M^ords,  they 

may  appear 

I  am  awj 

claimed  —  b 


■f. 


JVDKIAL  POWER  m  THE  lOTTED  STATES.  125 

more  usefol  influence,  than  that  of  the  magistrate-  but  h, 
ce^  to  represent  the  judicial  power.  ' 

The  third  characteristic  of  the  judicial  power  is    th«t 
.tcan  only  act  when  it  is  called  upon,  or  whin    in'. !^ 
phr^e,  t  has  taken  cogui^ce  of  an'  a^I  "t^^  "^hS 
tenshc  .s  less  gene,^  than  ^he  other  two;  uTno^. 

Ttir^it  r ,  K   ?°"''  ^  ^^  "^  "'""'^'  ^™id  of 

ishM  the  crunmalj  when  a  wrong  is  to  be  redressed  it  i. 
ready  to  redress  it ;  when  an  act'require,  l^Ztn 
«  prepared  to  inteT>ret  it ;  but  it  doi  not  pnrZl^"'u 
W  out  wrongs,  or  examine  evidence  ofT"wn™  ord' 
A  jud,c«d  fonetionaiy  who  should  take  the  in^MvTId 
usurp  the  censureship  of  the  law,  w™,u  •  °*"™'  ™'' 
do  violent  fn  *!,.        •  '      """ '"  *"°«  measure 

aoviolence  to  the  passive  nature  of  ha  authority. 

Ihe  Amencans  have  retained  these  threa  di,.;„„  •  i,- 
charac^ristics  of  the  judicial  powerTan  Ameri^fif 
can  only  pronounce  a  decision  when  litigatioThraris^ 
he  «  conversant  only  with  special  cases,  fnd  he  cinot  2 
unfl  the  cause  has  been  duly  brought  before    hTcl" 
H«  position  «,  therefore,  perfectly  shnilar  to  that  of  X' 
magistrates  of  other  nations;  and  yet  he  is  investd  wUl 
.mmense  political  power.     How  comes  that  aC  ?     I 
he  sphere  of  his  authority  and  his  means  of  t"  on  a^ 
the  same  as  hose  of  other  judges,  whence  does  he  derL 
a  power  which  they  do  not  possess?    The  cause  „fZ 
difference  lies  in  the  simple  fact,  that  the  AmTJcans  hfve 
acknowledged  the  right  of  the  judges  to  found  Ser 
^ons  on  he  Oonetitution  rather  than%n  the  Z«„,.    l"  „t^;" 
«ords,  they  have  not  permitted  them  to  applysuch  w7!I 
may  appear  to  them  to  be  unconstitutional 

Uaimed-but  claimed  m  vain -by  courts  of  justice  in 


i  '  I 


126 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


other  countries ;  but  in  America  it  is  recognized  by  all  th* 
authorities  ;  and  not  a  party,  not  so  much  as  an  individual, 
is  found  to  contest  it.     This  feet  can  be  explained  only  by 
the  principles  of  the  American  constitutions.     In  France, 
the  constitution  is  *  —  or,  at  least,  is  supposed  to  be  —  im- 
mutable ;  and  the  received  theory  is,  that  no  power  has  the 
right  of  changing  any  part  of  it.    In  England,  the  consti- 
tution may  change  continually ;  f  or  rather,  it  does  not  in 
reality  exist ;  the  Parliament  is  at  once  a  legislative  and 
a  constituent  assembly.     The  political  theories  of  America 
are  more  simple  and  more  rational.    An  American  consti- 
tution is  not  supposed  to  be  immutable,  as  in  France  ;  nor 
is  it  susceptible  of  modification  by  the  ordinary  powers  of 
society,  as  m  England.    It  constitutes  a  detached  whole, 
which,  as  it  represents  the  will  of  the  whole  people,  is  no 
less  binding  on  the  legislator  than  on  the  private  citizen, 
but  which  may  be  altered  by  the  will  of  the  people  in  pre- 
determined cases,  according  to  established  rules.    In  Amer- 
ica, the  constitution  may  therefore  vary ;  but  as  long  as  it 
exists,  it  is  the  origin  of  all  authority,  and  the  sole  vehicle 
of  the  predominating  force. 

It  is  easy  to  perceive  how  these  differences  must  act  upon 
the  position  and  the  rights  of  the  judicial  bodies  in  the  three 
countries  I  have  cited.  If,  in  France,  the  tribunals  were 
authorized  to  disobey  the  laws  on  the  ground  of  their  being 
opposed  to  the  constitution,  the  constituent  power  would  in 
fact  be  placed  in  their  hands,  since  they  alone  would  have 
the  right  of  interpreting  a  constitution,  of  which  no  author- 
ity could  change  the  terms.  They  would,  therefore,  take 
the  place  of  the  nation,  and  exercise  as  absolute  a  sway 
over  society  as  the  inherent  weakness  of  judicial  power 
would  allow  them  to  do.  Undoubtedly,  as  the  French 
judges  are  incompetent  to  declare  a  law  to  be  unconstitu- 
tional, the  power  of  changing  the  constitution  is  indirectly 


•  See  Appendix  L. 


t  See  Appendix  M. 


JHDICUL  POWEB  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  127 

given  to  the  legislative  body,  since  no  legal  barrier  would 
oppose  the  alterations  which  it  might  preSibT^nr^*  • 

the^  71  ,  ''\°  "P"'™'  (■^'"'^^^  imperfectly) 

It  would  be  still  more  unreasonable  to  invest  thp  Pn„i-  i. 
judges  with  the  right  of  resisting  the  decisTo^  o't  hflSs 
lative  body   smce  the  Parliament  which  mak4  the  Ws 
also  md.es  the  constitution ;  and  consequently.^  llw  eZ 
natmg  fiom  the  three  estates  of  the  reZ  ca^  fn  nT  ^e 
be  unconstitutional.     But  ni.!fl,»,  ^f  .i.  , 

cable  to  America.  *''"  "^^  "  W^- 

In  the  United  States,  the  constitution  govems  th^  I«™ 

^^  the  tribunal  H'o^y'Z' .:^,:Z.t1Z 
erence  to  any  law.     This  condition  belon<rs  t^  ,hl 
«sence„ffl.e  judicature;  for  to  select3g^„£S 
by  which  he  is  most  strictly  bound    !,  !„  ""ligation 

natuHd  right  of  eveiymagistLto'  """''  '"■"  *^ 

In  France,  the  constitution  is  also  the  first  of  laws  and 

he  judges  have  the  same  right  to  take  it  as  the  gZd  rf 

fteir  decisions;  but  were  they  to  exercise  this  ZTil 

m»t  perforce  encroach  on  rights  more  sacred  tht  2 

actag.     In  this  case,  reasons  of  state  clearly  prevail  over 
orfmaiy  motives.     In  America,  where  the'Sn  ^ 
always  reduce  its  magistrates  to  obedience  by  oZZ. 
m  constotion,  no  danger  of  this  kind  is  to  be  S 
Upon  this  point,  Wore,  the  poUtical  and  tTe  S 

tntional  is  invoked  m  a  tnbanal  of  the  United  States,  he 


'0:,  \  t 


I 


"I.  I 


128 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


may  refiise  to  admit  it  as  a  rule ;  this  power  is  the  only  on© 
which  is  peculiar  to  the  American  magistrate,  but  it  gives 
rise  to  immense  political  influence.     In  truth,  few  laws  can 
escape  the  searching  analysis  of  the  judicial  power  for  any 
length  of  time,  for  there  are  few  which  are  not  prejudicial 
to  some  private  interest  or  other,  and  none  which  may  not 
be  brought  before  a  court  of  justice  by  the  choice  of  par- 
ties, or  by  the  necessity  of  the  case.     But  as  soon  as  a 
judge  has  refused  to  apply  any  given  law  in  a  case,  that 
law  immediately  loses  a  portion  of  its  moral  force.     Those 
to  whom  it  is  prejudicial  learn  that  means  exist  of  overcom- 
ing its  authority ;  and  similar  suits  are  multiplied,  until  it 
becomes   powerless.      The   alternative,  then,  is,  that  the 
people  must  alter  the  constitution,  or  the  legislature  must 
repeal  the  law.     The  political  power  which  the  Americans 
have  intrusted  to  their  courts  of  justice  is  therefore  im- 
mense ;  but  the  evils  of  this  power  are  considerably  dimin- 
ished by  the  impossibility  of  attacking  the  laws  except 
through  the  courts  of  justice.     If  the  judge  had  been  em- 
powered to  contest  the  law  on  the  ground  of  theoretical 
generalities,  —  if  he  were  able  to  take  the  initiative,  and  to 
censure  the  legislator,  —  he  would  play  a  prominent  politi- 
cal part ;  and  as  the  champion  or  the  antagonist  of  a  party, 
he  would  have  brought  the  hostile  passions  of  the  nation 
into  the  conflict.     But  when  a  judge  contests  a  law  in  an 
obscure  debate  on  some  particular  case,  the  importance  of 
his  attack  is  concealed  from  pubKc  notice;  his  decision 
bears  upon  the  interest  of  an  individual,  and  the  law  is 
slighted  only  incidentally.     Moreover,  although  it  is  cen- 
sured, it  is  not  abolished ;  its  moral  force  may  be  dimin- 
ished, but  its  authority  is  not  taken  away ;  and  its  final 
destruction   can   be   accomplished  only  by  the  reiterated 
attacks  of  judicial  functionaries.      It  will  be  seen,  also, 
that  by  leaving  it  to  private  interest  to  censure  the  law, 
and  by  intimately  uniting  the  trial  of  the  law  with  the 


JUDICIAL  POWER  LN  THE  UNIIED  STATES  I09 

wluch  mua  serve  aa  the  basis  of  a  prosecutio^  " 

i  am  inclined  to  believe  this  nractice  nf  .!,»  i 

attacked  when  ?he  ^wer  frL  :«! le  '^""'^""'^  "^ 
weak,  and  obeyed  w'hen  it  X  t^.fZZTI^::' 
when  n  would  be  useful  to  respect  tht,  they  w  uld  oZi' 
be  contested  ,  and  when  it  would  be  eas^  to  "^oTvert  tZ 
into  an  instniment  of  oppr^ion,  they  would  teCec^T 

"Sd^irrirr'^rt^^^^ 

because  he  isW<.  to^d^".  et  "V^X^ 

Uon  which  he  IS  caUed  upon  to  resolve  is  conne^t^  wl 

the  interests  of  the  parties,  and  he  cannot  refuse  t^delMt 

.t  without  a  denial  of  justice.     He  performs  his  fonctioni 

^  a  citen,  by  fulfilling  the  precise  duties  which  telonl  "o 

his  profession  as  a  magistrate.    It  is  true  rt,.7  ^'""^  "> 

system,  the  judicial  cfnso^hip  of  thrcourL'  T"  ^^ 

over  the  legislature  cannot  «Ld  to  all    awt  ink"^^ 

nat^ly,  inasmuch  as  some  of  them  can  nevrgi^e  rf^^; 

Aat  precise  species  of  contest  which  is  termed?  aw  mV 

nd  even  when  such  a  contest  is  possible,  it  may  Z™  ' 

conrf.  of  justice,  of  pronouncing  a  statute  to  be„" 


I      1 '     r 


*3k  t   ' 


»4i 


1  ■*1lli 


■•■"^""■^  ■'■" 


If^ 


:|ll*' 


130 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


tutional,  forms  one  of  the  most  powerful  barriers  which 
has  ever  been  devised  against  the  tyranny  of  political  as- 
nemblies. 


OTHER   POWERS   GRANTED  TO   AMERICAN   JUDGES. 

In  the  United  States,  all  the  Citizens  have  the  Eight  of  indicting  the  Puhllc 
Functionaries  before  the  ordinary  Tribunals.  —  How  they  use  this  Right 
—  Art.  75  of  the  French  Constitution  of  the  Year  Vlll.  —  The  Ameri- 
cans and  the  English  cannot  understand  the  Purport  of  this  Article. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that,  in  a  free  country  like 
America,  all  the  citizens  have  the  right  of  indicting  public 
functionaries  before  the  ordinary  tribunals,  and  that  all  the 
judges  have  the  power  of  convicting  public  officers.  The 
right  granted  to  the  courts  of  justice  of  panishing  the 
agents  of  the  executive  government,  when  they  violate  the 
laws,  is  so  natural  a  one,  that  it  cannot  be  looked  upon  as 
an  extraordinary  privilege.  Nor  do  the  springs  of  govern- 
ment appear  to  me  to  be  weakened  in  the  United  States, 
by  rendering  all  public  officers  responsible  to  the  tribunals. 
The  Americans  seem,  on  the  contrary,  to  have  increased 
by  this  means  that  respect  which  is  due  to  the  authorities, 
and  at  the  same  time,  to  have  made  these  authorities  more 
careful  not  to  offend.  I  was  struck  by  the  small  number 
of  pohtical  trials  which  occur  in  the  United  States ;  but  I 
had  no  difficulty  in  accounting  for  this  circumstance.  A 
prosecution,  of  whatever  nature  it 'may  be,  is  always  a 
difficult  and  expensive  undertaking.  It  is  easy  to  attack 
a  public  man  in  the  journals,  but  the  motives  for  bringing 
him  before  the  tribunals  must  be  serious.  A  solid  ground 
of  complaint  must  exist,  before  any  one  thinks  of  prosecut- 
ing a  public  officer,  and  these  officers  are  careful  not  to 
furnish  such  grounds  of  complaint,  when  they  are  afraid  of 
being  prosecuted. 


This  I 

ican  ins 

These  t 

principal 

dence. 

tions,  wl 

that  Jibe: 

procedur( 

In  the 

jfFenders, 

few  who  ' 

l)er  of  cr: 

.justice  is 

cious.     T 

nnd  oppre 

lessening  t 

In  tJie  y 

was  drawi 

duced:  "i 

the  rank  oi 

to  their  se\ 

Council  of 

place  befon 

the  "  Const 

in  spite  of  t 

found  a  diff 

or  America! 

at  once  pei 

bein 


or 


a  grcfB 
ilom,  it  was 
before  it  as 
that  the  Co 
common  sen 
composed  of 
king,  afler  1 


•'lUICIAL  POWER  nj  THE  UNITED  STATES.  131 

These  two  nation,  do  „™:„dL''°r",  "  '^"'"'""''• 
principal  office,  of  suto  ^^^Zu^"'  f  "'" 
'lencc.  I,„t  they  hold  that  it  i,"'^!' t"  '"''''Po- 
tions, wliieh  tlie  humblest  ei.;,.n  .  ^        "^  f"^"' 

.j.at  i;he«,  i3  protcct!ttrnTb;tr "  ri'.-"^; 

in  the  Middle  Ages,  when  it  M-as  very  difficnif  tn  u 
v>ffenders,  the  ludo-es  infliVf«.I  f  •  k  n,  "^  «™cuJt  to  reach 
few  who  were  Irr«terrut1hu1  Punishments  on  the 

l«r  of  crime,      l7l,  '  ,  ''"'  ""'  '"'"'"''»''  "'«  nnm- 

tnmcs.     It  lias  smce  been  discovered  tl,„f  ,  i 
justice  IS  more  certain  and  more  mild  T"    "        '        " 
eioiis.     The  EnWish  ■,„,)  .1,    T     •        '    '  "  '"'"''=  <-"'fi<^'>- 

™d  oppressio^if  t:te     etTir^  '""V"'"  '^™'"-^ 
lessening  the  penalt,  and  St  nttnTa  '^''  "^'""    '^ 

^.iVX^nthlj^t^^lf^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

duced:  "Art  75     IT  «>"'>«"ng  clause  was  intro- 

.he  .nU  otlt.^      t^ri:^^^^^^^^  l'^"'- 

to  their  several  functions  onLTwrtue  of  7"  "-''f '"« 
Council  of  State;  in  which  ciT  „  '''^'' °^  "'" 
place  before  the  ordinary  tribunal-  Tl  rT™"""  '"''" 
the  "  Constitution  of  the  year  VII  '  "  T"  """"'••^ 

in  spite  of  the  just  compl  ilrf    ;'  ^  ^'i'  ™-'aine<l, 
found  a  difficulty  in  exnlainino-  ;  ^''^  "'"'"y* 

ot-  Americans,  an^d  haSr/u'lrodl  'mv'nr ' 
at  once  perceived  that,  the  Council  of  StaTf  fI^"' 

:::rtra"tr„rt^"*'''"*=~^^^^^^^ 

hefo;e  it  afa  pr  LL^TJ  *»-' b""  n'^"^"^ 
tliat  the  Council  of  C         "^^  ''''™  ^  ">'<'  "«=ni 

common  s;nr  f  tL  errit""'  ■*  f '''™'  "^'^  ^"  «'« 
eon.pos«,  of  men  ^^ZZ^":^^ 
k-ng,  after  having  orfered  one  „f  his  :::;.a„:s   '^J'l 


132 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


Prefect,  to  commit  an  injustice,  has  the  power  of  com- 
manding another  of  his  servants,  called  a  Councillor  of 
State,  to  prevent  the  former  from  being  punished,  —  when 
I  showed  tliem,  that  the  citizen  who  has  been  injured  by  an 
order  of  the  sovereign  is  obliged  to  ask  the  sovereign's  per- 
mission to  obtain  redress,  they  refused  to  credit  so  flagrant 
an  abuse,  and  were  tempted  to  accuse  me  of  falsehood  or 
ignorance.  It  frequently  happened,  before  the  Revolution, 
that  a  Parliament  *  issued  a  warrant  against  a  public  officer 
who  had  committed  an  offence.  Sometimes  the  royal  au- 
thority intervened,  and  quashed  the  proceedings.  Despot- 
ism then  showed  itself  openly,  and  men  obeyed  it  only  by 
submitting  to  superior  force.  It  is  painful  to  perceive  how 
much  lower  we  are  sunk  than  our  forefathers;  since  we 
allow  things  to  pass,  under  the  color  of  justice  and  the  sanc- 
tion of  law,  which  violence  alone  imposed  upon  them. 

•  A  French  "Parliament"  was  a,  judicial  body.  — Am.  Ed. 


POLITICAL  JURISDICTION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.      183 


CHAPTER    VII. 

POLinoAL  JUBISDICTION  IN  THE  TOUTED  STATES. 

,«  cly  d«„c.  Removal  fW>„  Offloe  than  ,n  ordi-arj.  Pena„y. -Pot 
^  J»nsd«„„  „  i,  e,i3«  i„  a,e  TJniM  State,  i,.  LvwJLdia!   » 
W  a«,  and  perhaps  in  Con,e,„e„«,  „f  „,..  Mi,^e«,  .t«  W 
MlnstrumontintheHandsoflheMnjority.  most  ro»er 

J  UNDERSTAND  by  political  jurisdiction,  that  tem- 
X  porary  nglit   of  pronouncing  a  legal    decision  with 
which  a  pohtical  body  may  be  invested. 
In  absolute  governments,  it  is  useless  to  introduce  any 

name  an  oifender  k  prosecuted,  is  as  much  the  soverei<m 
of  the  courts  o,  just  ce  as  of  evetything  else,  and  the  id^. 
winch  .s  entertained  of  his  power  is  of  itself  a  sufficient 
secunty.     The  only  thing  he  has  to  fear  is,  that  the    "- 
temal  forma.t,es  of  justice  should  be  neglected,  and  that 
h.s    authonty    should    be    dishonored,  f™m    a  wish    to 
strengthen  ,t.     B„,  i„  „ost  fi-ee  countries,  in  which  the 
majority  can  never  have  the  same  influence  over  the  tri- 
bunals  as  an   absolute  monarch,  the  judicial  power  has 
occasionally  been  vested  for  a  time  in  the  representative, 
of  the  people.     It  has  been  thought  better  to  introduce  a 
emporary  confusion  between  the  functions  of  the  different 
authorities,  than  to  violate  the  necessary  principle  of  the 
unity  of  government. 
England,  France,  a..d  the  United  States  have  established 


'  ^1 


lU 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMElilCA. 


/I 


this  political  jurisdiction  by  law ;  and  it  is  curious  to  see 
tlie  different  use  which  these  three  great  nations  have 
made  of  it.  In  England  and  in  France,  the  House  of 
Lords  and  the  Chamber  of  Peers  constitute  tlie  highest 
criminal  court  of  their  respective  nations ;  and  although 
they  do  not  habitually  try  all  political  offences,  they  are 
competent  to  try  them  all.  Another  political  body  has  the 
right  of  bringing  the  accusation  before  the  Peers :  the  only 
difference  which  exists  between  the  two  countries  in  this 
respect  is,  that  in  England  the  Commons  may  impeach 
whomsoever  they  please  before  the  Lords,  whilst  in 
France,  the  Deputies  can  only  employ  this  mode  of  pros- 
ecution aaainst  the  ministers  of  the  Crown.  In  both 
countries,  the  Upper  House  may  make  use  of  all  the  ex- 
isting penal  laws  of  the  nation  to  punish  the  delinquents. 

In  the  United  States,  as  well  as  in  Europe,  one  branch 
of  the  legislature  is  authorized  to  impeach,  and  the  other  to 
judge :  the  House  of  Representatives  arraigns  the  offender, 
and  the  Senate  punishes  him.  But  the  Senate  can  only 
try  such  persons  as  are  brought  before  it  by  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  those  persons  must  belong  to  the 
class  of  public  functionaries.  Thus  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Senate  is  less  extensive  thi.n  that  of  the  Peers  of  France, 
v/hilst  the  right  of  impeachment  by  the  Representatives  is 
more  general  than  that  of  the  Deputies.  But  the  great 
difference  which  exists  between  Europe  and  America  is, 
that,  in  Europe,  the  political  tribunals  can  apply  all  the 
enactments  of  the  penal  code,  whilst  in  America,  wlitn 
they  have  deprived  the  offender  of  his  official  rank,  and 
have  declared  him  incapable  of  filling  any  political  office 
for  the  future,  their  jurisdiction  terminates,  and  that  of  the 
ordinary  tribunals  begins. 

Suppose,  for  instance,  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States  has  committed  the  crime  of  high-treason ;  the  House 
of  Representatives  impeaches  him,   and   the   Senate  de* 


POLITICAL  JURISDICTION  IN  THE   UNITED   STATES.      136 

grades  him  from  office ;  he  must  then  be  tried  by  a  jmy 
which  alone  can  deprive  him  of  hberty  or  life.     This  ac- 
cmrately  iUustrates  the  subject  we  are  treating.     The  polite 
ical  jurisdiction  which  is  established  by  the  laws  of  Europe 
IS  intended  to  reach  great  offenders,  whatever  may  be  their 
birth,  their  rank,  or  their  power  in  the  State ;  and  to  this 
end,  all  the  privileges  of  a  court  of  justice  are  temporarily 
given  to  a  great  pohtical  assembly.     The  legislator  is  th^n 
transformed  into  a  magistrate ;  he  is  caUed  upon  to  prove 
to  classify,  and  to  punish  the  offence ;  and  as  he  exercises 
all  the  authority  of  a  judge,  the  law  imposes  upon  him  all 
the  duties  of  that  high  office,  and  requires  all  the  formal- 
ities of  justice.     When  a  pubUc  functionary  is  impeached 
before  an  English  or  a  French  pohtical  tribunal,  and  is 
found  guilty,  the  sentence  deprives  him  ipso  facto  of  his 
fimctions,  and  may  pronounce  him  incapable  of  resumincr 
tliem  or  any  others  for  the  future.     But  in  tliis  case,  the 
pohtical  interdict  is  a  consequence  of  the  sentence,  and  not 
the  sentence  itself.     In  Europe,  then,  the  sentence  of  a      , 
political  tribunal  is  a  judicial  verdict,  rather  than  an  ad-    ^ 
ministrative  measure.     In  the  United  States,  the  contrary 
tsikes  place;   and  although  the  decision  of  the  Senate  is 
judicial  in  its  form,  since  the  Senators  are  obUged  to  com- 
ply with  the  rules  and  formalities  of  a  court  of  justice; 
although  it  is  judicial,  also,  in  respect  to  the  motives  on 
which  it  is  founded,  since  the  Senate  is  generally  obhged 
to  take  an  offence  at  common  law  as  the  basis  of  its  sen- 
tence; yet  the  political  judgment  is  rather  an  administra- 
tive than  a  judicial  act.     If  it  had  been  the  intention  of 
the  American  legislator  really  to  invest  a  pohtical  body 
with  great  judicial  authority,  its  action  would  not  have 
been  hmited  to  public  functionaries,  since  the  most  danger- 
ous enemies  of  the  state  may  not  have  any  pubhc  functions ; 
and  this  is  especially  true  in  republics,  where  party  influ- 
ence has  the  most  force,  and  where  the  strength  of  mant 
a  leader  is  increased  by  his  exercising  no  legitimate  power. 


iM 


'  •«r^>w?!  'Ji.f  P.i'.V.'^.fff"  f*eT^''tyf 


136 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


If  the  American  legislator  had  wished  to  give  society 
itself  the  means  of  preventing  great  offences  by  the  fear  of 
punishment,  according  to  the  practice  of  ordinary  justice, 
all  the  resources  of  the  penal  code  would  have  been  given 
to  the  political  tribunals.  But  he  gave  them  only  an 
imperfect  weapon,  which  can  never  reach  the  most  dan- 
gerous offenders ;  since  men  who  aim  at  the  entire  sub- 
version of  the  laws  are  not  hkely  to  murmur  at  a  poUtical 
interdict. 

The  main  object  of  the  political  jurisdiction  which  ob- 
tains in  the  United  States  is,  therefore,  to  take  aAvay  the 
power  from  him  who  would  make  a  bad  use  of  it,  and  pre- 
vent him  from  ever  acquiring  it  again.  This  is  evidently 
an  administrative  measure,  sanctioned  by  the  formaUties 
of  a  judicial  decision.  In  this  matter,  the  Americans  have 
created  a  mixed  system ;  they  have  surrounded  the  act 
which  removes  a  public  functionary  with  all  the  securities 
of  a  political  trial,  and  they  have  deprived  political  con- 
demnations of  their  severest  penalties.  Every  link  of  the 
system  may  easily  be  traced  fron^  this  point ;  we  at  once 
perceive  why  the  American  constitutions  subject  all  the 
civil  fimctionaries  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Senate,  whilst 
the  militarv,  whose  crimes  are  nevertheless  more  formi- 
dable,  are  exempted  from  that  tribunal.  In  the  civil  ser- 
vice, none  of  the  American  functionaries  can  be  said  to  be 
removable  ;  the  places  which  some  of  them  occupy  are 
inalienable,  and  the  others  are  chosen  for  a  term  which 
cannot  be  shortened.*  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  tiy 
them  all  in  order  to  deprive  them  of  their  authority.  But 
military  officers  are  dependent  on  the  chief  magistrate  of 

*  This  is  a  great  mistake.  In  no  country  in  the  world  do  civil  ofBcera 
hold  their  posts  by  so  short  and  uncertain  a  tenure  as  in  the  United  States. 
This  is  true  both  of  the  Federal  and  the  State  governments,  rotation  in  officri 
being  now  held  up  (falsely  and  injuriously,  aa  we  believe)  to  bo  a  republican 
principle.  Every  change  of  administration,  every  election  of  a  new  Gover 
nor  or  a  new  President,  leads  to  the  appointment  of  a  new  set  of  oflScers, 


rOUTIO«   JDWSDICTION  IN  THE  WOTED  STATES.      137 

die  State  who  is  himself  a  civil  ftnctionarjr;  and  the  de- 
cs^  which  condemns  him  is  a  blow  upon  Aem  all 

It  we  now  compare  the  American  and  the  Euronean 
ystems  we  shall  meet  with  differences  no  less  striZIn 
l.e  effects  which  each  of  them  p^duces  or  may  proS^ce 
In  F^nce  and  England,  the  jurisdiction  of  poli/c^tto 
«  looked  upon  as  an  extn.ordina,y  .source:  which  is  only 
to  be  employe<l  m  „rfer  to  rescue  society  from  unwonted 
dange:..  It  ,s  not  to  be  denied  that  these  tribunalsTsXv 
are  consftuted  in  Europe,  violate  the  conservat,"  e  pr  S 

r         ^  ,1       .  .  f'^weis ,  11  cannot  menaop  tho 

hves  of  the  cuizxns,  and  it  does  not  hover,  as  in  Europe 
over  the  heads  of  the  whole  community,  s  „ce  it  rS,' 

a^  Je«:.io:,  i^dXt^^rtt^tr^^^^^ 

he  leg-slaters  of  the  United  States  as  an  extreme  ^edv 
for  the  more  violent  evils  of  society,  but  as  an  orTna^^ 
means  of  government.   In  this  r^pect,  it  probably  TxeS 

Zne     W  "™"  ""  *^  ^'''  "^y  in  Ameri»  ZT 
Europe.     We  must  not  be  misled  by  the  apparent  mildn^s 

f  American  legislation  in  all  that  relates  to  poh'ticTS 

diction.    It  ,s  to  be  observed,  m  the  first  place,  that  iiTe 

fid  of  U  r'  '"^  't"""  """"'  ?=--  j'""-"-'  -  "om! 
posed  of  the  same  elements,  and  subject  to  the  same  in 

uences,  as  the  body  which  impeaches  the  ofedrand 

-hat  this  gives  an  almost  irresistible  impulse  to  the  Cin- 

Am,  Ed.  reraovea  except  by  irapeaclunent.  — 


T ■      R      ,  il 


itb&M 


138 


DEiMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


dictive  passions  of  parties.  If  political  judges  in  tliti  United 
States  cannot  inflict  so  heavy  penalties  as  those  in  Europe, 
there  is  the  less  chance  of  their  acquitting  an  offender ;  the 
conviction,  if  it  is  less  formidable,  is  more  certain.  The 
principal  object  of  the  political  tribunals  of  Europe  is  to 
punish  the  offender ;  of  those  in  America,  to  deprive  him 
of  his  power.  A  poHtical  sentence  in  the  United  States 
may,  therefore,  be  looked  upon  as  a  preventive  measure ; 
and  there  is  no  reason  for  tying  down  the  judges  to  the 
exact  definitions  of  criminal  law.  Nothing  can  be  more 
alarming  than  the  vagueness  with  which  political  offences, 
properly  so  called,  are  described  in  the  laws  of  America. 
Article  II.  Section  4  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  runs  thus :  —  "  The  President,  Vice-President,  and 
all  civil  officers  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from 
office  on  impeachment  for,  and  conviction  of,  treason,  brib- 
ery, or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors.^*  Many  of  the 
constitutions  of  the  States  are  even  less  explicit.  "  Pubhc 
officers,"  says  the  Constitution  of  Massachusetts,  "  shall  be 
impeached  for  misconduct  or  maladministration."  The 
Constitution  of  Virginia  declares  that  "  all  the  civil  officers 
who  shall  have  offended  against  the  State  by  maladminis- 
tration, corruption,  or  other  high  crimes,  may  be  impeached 
by  the  House  of  Delegates."  In  some  of  the  States,  the 
constitutions  do  not  specify  any  offences,  in  order  to  sub- 
ject the  public  functionaries  to  an  unlimited  responsibility.* 
I  venture  to  affirm,  that  it  is  precisely  their  mildness  which 
renders  the  American  laws  so  formidable  in  this  respect. 
We  have  shown  that,  in  Europe,  the  removal  of  a  fimction- 
ary  and  his  political  disqualification  are  the  consequences  of 
the  penalty  he  is  to  undergo,  and  that,  in  America,  they 
constitute  the  penalty  itself.  The  consequence  is,  that  in 
Europe,  political  tribunals  are  invested  with  terrible  powers 
which  they  are  afraid  to  use,  and  the  fear  of  punishing  too 

*  See  the  Constitutions  of  liUuois,  Maine,  Conuccticut,  and  Georgia. 


POLITICAL  JURISDICTION  IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.      189 

much  hinders  them  from  punishing  at  aU.     But  in  Amer- 
ica,  no  one  hesitates  to  inflict  a  penalty  from  which  human- 
ity does  not  recoil.     To  condemn  a  pohtical  opponent  to 
death,  m  order  to  deprive  him  of  his  power,  is  to  commit 
what  all  the  world  would  execrate  as  a  horrible  assassina- 
tion ;  but  to  declare  that  opponent  miworthy  to  exercise 
that  authority,  and  to  deprive  him  of  it,  leaving  him  un- 
injured  m  life  aifd  limb,  may  seem  to  be  the  fair  issue  of 
the  struggle.      But  this  sentence,  which  it  is  so  easy  to 
pronounce,  is  not  the  less  fatally  severe  to  most  of  thoae 
upon  whom  it  is  hiflicted.     Great  criminals  may  undoubt- 
edly brave  its  vain  rigor;  but  ordinary  offenders  will  dread 
It  as  a  condemnation  which  destroys  their  position  in  the 
world  casts  a  blight  upon  their  honor,  and  condemns  them 
to  a  shameful  inactivity  worse  than  death.     The  influence 
exercised  in  the  United  States  upon  the  nrogress  of  society 
by  the  jurisdiction  of  pohtical  bodies  is  the  more  powerful 
m  proportion  as  it  seems  less  frightful.     It  does  not  directly 
coerce  the  subject,  but  it  renders  the  majority  more  absi 
lute  oyer  those  in  power;  it  does  not  give  an  unbounded 
authority  to  the  legislature  which  can  only  be  exerted  at 
some  great  crisis,  but  it  establishes  a  temperate  and  reo-ular 
influence,  which  is  at  all  times  available.     If  the  pow^'er  is 
decreased,  it  can,  on  the  other  hand,  be  more  conveniently 
employed,  and  more  easily  abused.    By  preventing  pohtical 
tribunals  from  inflicting  judicial  punishments,  the  Americans 
seem  to  have  eluded  the  worst  consequences  of  lecrislative 
tyranny,  rather  than  tyranny  itself;  and  I  am  not  sure 
that  pohtical  jurisdiction,  as  it  is  constituted  in  the  United 
States,  is  not,  all  things  considered,  the  most  formidable 
weapon  which  has  ever  been  placed  in  the  grasp  of  a  ma- 
jority.   When  the  American  republics  begin  to  degenerate 
It  will  be  easy  to  verify  the  tmth  of  this  observation,  by 
remarking  whether  the  number  of  political  unpeachments 
IS  increased.* 

•  See  Appendix  N. 


li 


i  f  1 


1  1 


140 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE    FEDERAL    CONSTITUTION. 


I  HAVE  hitherto  considered  each  State  as  a  separate 
whole,  and  have  explained  the  different  springs  which 
the  people  there  put  in  motion,  and  the  different  means  of 
action  which  it  employs.  But  all  the  States  which  I  have 
considered  as  independent  are  yet  forced  to  submit,  in  cer- 
tain cases,  to  the  supreme  authority  of  the  Union.  The 
time  is  now  come  to  examine  the  portion  of  sovereignty 
which  has  been  granted  to  the  Union,  and  to  cast  a  rapid 
glance  over  the  Federal  Constitution. 


common  ti 


HISTORY   OF   THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION. 

Origin  of  the  first  Union.  —  Its  Weakness.  —  Congress  appeals  to  the  Con' 
stituent  Authority.  —  Interval  of  two  Years  between  tliis  Appeal  and  the 
Promulgation  of  the  new  Constitution. 

The  thirteen  Colonies,  which  simultaneously  threw  off 
the  yoke  of  England  towards  the  end  of  the  last  century, 
had,  as  I  have  already  said,  the  same  religion,  the  same 
language,  the  same  customs,  and  almost  the  same  laws; 
they  were  struggling  against  a  comnion  enemy ;  and  these 
reasons  were  sufficiently  strong  to  unite  them  one  to  an- 
other, and  to  consolidate  them  into  one  nation.  But  us 
each  of  them  had  always  had  a  separate  existence,  and  a 
government  within  its  reach,  separate  interests  and  peculiar 
customs  had  sprung  up,  which  were  opposed  to  such  a  com- 
pact and  intimate  union  as  would  have  absorbed  the  indi- 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  141 

ridual  importance  of  each  in  the  general  importance  of  aU. 
Hence  arose  two  opposite  tendencies, -the  one  prompting 
^re,!^h  ""^  '"  """*•  *"  »*«■■  t"  divide,  thei? 

As  long  as  the  war  with  the  mother  country  lasted,  the 
principle  of  union  was  kept  alive  by  necessity;   and  al- 
though  the  laws  which  constituted  it  were  defective,  the 
common  tie  subsisted  in  spite  of  their  imperfections.*     But 
no  sooner  was  peace  concluded,  than  the  faults  of  this  legis- 
lation became  manifest,  and  the  state  seemed  to  be  sud- 
den  y  dissolved.     Each  Colony  became  an  independent  re- 
public,  and  assumed  an  absolute  sovereignty.     The  Federal 
government,  condemned  to  impotence  by  its  Constitution, 
and  no  longer  sustained  by  the  presence  of  a  common  dan ' 
ger,  witnessed  the  outrages  offered  to  its  flag  by  the  great 
nations  of  Europe,  whilst  it  was  scarcely  abl^  to  maiLn 

,  TT  J^7'.*  'u'/"^'"  '''^''^  ^"^  *«  W  the  interest 
of  the  debt  which  had  been  contacted  during  the  war  of 

mdependence.     It  was  already  on  the  verge  of  destruction, 
when  It  officially  proclaimed  its  inability  to  conduct  the 
government,  and  appealed  to  the  constituent  authority.f 
.    . S':"'^"'^  ^?^  approached  (for  however  brief  a  time) 
that  lofty  pinnacle  of  gloiy  to  which  the  proud  imagination 
of  Its  mhabitants  is  wont  to  point,  it  was  at  this  solemn 
moment,  when  the  national  power  abdicated,  as  it  were  its 
authonty.     All  ages  have  furnished  the  spectacle  of  a  peo- 
ple struggling  with  energy  to  win  its  independence;  and 
the  efforts  of  the  Americans  in  throwing  off  the  English 
yoke  have  been  considerably  exaggerated.     Separated  from 

*  See  the  Articles  of  the  first  Confederation,  formed  in  1778.     This  Con 
Bt.tat.on  was  not  adopted  by  all  the  States  until  1781.     See  also  the  analv"      • 
8.S  given  of  th,s  Constitution  in  the  Federalist,  from  No.  15  to  No.  22'nc  u 
^'85°  ur"^''  "^"™™^°^^  °"  *h«  Constitution  of  the  United  States.," 

t  Congress  made  this  declaration  on  the  2l8t  of  Februaiy,  1787. 


m  ; 


142 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


their  enemies  by  three  thousand  miles  of  ocean,  and  backed 
by  a  powerful  ally,  the  United  States  owed  their  victory 
much  more  to  their  geographical  position  than  to  the  valor 
of  their  armies  or  the  patriotism  of  their  citizens.  It  would 
be  ridiculous  to  compare  the  American  war  to  the  wars  of 
the  French  Revolution,  or  the  efforts  of  the  Americans  to 
those  of  the  French,  when  France,  attacked  by  the  whole 
of  Europe,  without  money,  without  credit,  without  allies, 
threw  forward  a  twentieth  part  of  her  population  to  meet 
her  enemies,  and  with  one  hand  carried  the  torch  of  revo- 
lution beyond  the  frontiers,  whilst  she  stifled  with  the  other 
a  flame  that  was  devouring  the  country  within.  But  it  is 
new  in  the  history  of  society,  to  see  a  great  people  turn  a 
calm  and  scrutinizing  eye  upon  itself,  when  apprised  by  the 
legislature  that  the  wheels  of  its  government  are  stopped, 
—  to  see  it  carefully  examine  the  extent  of  the  evil,  and 
patiently  wait  two  whole  years  until  a  remedy  is  discov- 
ered, to  Avhich  it  voluntarily  submitted  without  its  costing 
a  tear  or  a  drop  of  blood  from  mankind. 

When  the  inadequacy  of  the  first  constitution  was  dis- 
covered, America  had  the  double  advantage  of  that  calm 
which  had  succeeded  the  eifervescence  of  the  Revolution, 
and  of  the  aid  of  those  great  men  whom  the  Revolution 
had  created.  The  assembly  which  accepted  the  task  of 
composing  the  second  constitution  was  small ;  *  but  George 
Washington  was  its  President,  and  it  contained  the  finest 
minds  and  the  noblest  characters  which  had  ever  appeared 
in  the  New  World.  This  national  Convention,  after  long 
and  mature  deliberation,  offered  to  the  acceptance  of  tlie 
people  the  body  of  general  laws  which  still  rules  the  Union. 
All  the  States  adopted  it  successively.!     The  new  Federal 

*  It  consisted  of  fifty-five  members;  "Washington,  Madison,  Hamilton, 
and  the  two  Morrises  were  amongst  the  number. 

t  It  was  not  adopted  by  the  legislative  bodies,  but  representatives  were 
elected  by  the  people  for  this  sole  purpose ;  and  tiio  new  Constitution  wa« 
discussed  at  length  in  each  of  these  assemblies. 


THE   FEDERAI,  CONSTITUTION.  I43 

government  commenced  it,  fonctions  in  1789,  after  an 
.ntetregnum  of  two  yea«.  The  Revolution  of  Americ^ 
terminated  precisely  when  that  of  Fmnce  began. 

SUMMART   OF  THE    PEDEBAL  CONSTITUTIOH. 
DhWo-of  A„,l,„rUj.b..„c„„  ,ho  Fcdcml  Govomm.„,  ..d  ,h.  g^  _ 

L'E?j:r°'  °'  **'  "^  -•'  *»  «"'»•  "■•  ^-^  «o™r.: 

The  first  question  which  awaited  the  Americans  was  so 
to  divide  the  sovereignty  that  each  of  the  different  sttis 
which  composed  the  Union  should  continue  to  go^™ 
teelf  m  all  that  concerned  its  internal  prosperity,  wS 
he  entire  nation,  represented  by  the  Union!  shoVcon 
tinue  to  form  a  compact  body;  and  to  provide  for  aU  Z 
eral  exigencies.     The  problem  was  a  complex  and  d  i/cu" 
one.    It  was  as  impossible  to  determine  beforehand  wW 
any  degree  of  accuracy,  the  share  of  authority  whkh  Tach 

"eirxrrnX.^"-'"''"^— -" 

The  obligations  and  the  claims  of  the  Federal  govem- 
mentwere  smiple  and  easily  definable,  because  theVZ 
had  been  formed  with  the  express  pn^iose  of  meeting  ce" 

am  great  general  wants ;  but  the  claims  and  obUgatiom  of 
the  individual  States,  on  the  other  hand,  were  complicat^ 
and  various  because  their  government  had  penetJedi^ 
all  the  details  of  social  life.  The  attributes  of  the  Federal 
government  were  therefore  carefully  defined,  and  all  thT 

as  not  included  among  them  was  declared  to  remain  to 
he  governments  of  the  several  States.     Thus   the  gov! 
ernmentof  the  States  remained  the  rule,  and  that  of^e 
Confederation  was  the  exception.* 

•  It  h  to  be  observed,  that,  »henever  the  «.cW„  right  „f  re™I.to  er 
to  matte™  .  „„.  served  ,0  Cong™,  b,  .he  C^^Lt^^Z, 


144 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMKIUCA. 


But  as  it  was  foreseen  that,  in  practice,  questions  might 
arise  as  to  the  exact  Hmita  of  this  exceptional  authority, 
and  it  would  be  dangerous  to  submit  these  questions  to  the 
decision  of  the  ordinary  courts  of  justice,  established  in  the 
different  States  by  the  States  themselves,  a  high  Federal 
court  was  created,*  one  of  whoso  duties  was  to  maintain 
the  balance  of  power  between  the  two  rival  governments, 
as  it  had  been  established  by  the  Constitution.! 


POWERS  OF  THE  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT. 


Power  of  declaring  War,  making  Peace,  and  levying  Goncral  Taxes  'cjod 
in  the  Federal  Government.  —  Wliat  Part  of  the  Internal  Policy  of  the 
Country  it  may  direct.  —  The  Government  of  the  Union  in  some  Re- 
spccta  more  centralized  than  the  King's  Government  in  the  old  French 
Monarchy.       i 

The  people  in  themselves  are  only  individuals  ;  and  the 
special  reason  why  they  need  to  be  united  under  one  gov- 
ernment is,  that  they  may  appear  to  advantage  before  for- 
eigners.    The  exclusive  right  of  making  peace  and  war,  of 

legislate  concerning  them  till  Congress  sees  fit  to  take  up  the  affair.  For 
instance,  Congress  has  the  right  of  making  a  general  law  on  bankruptcy, 
which,  however,  it  neglects  to  do.  Each  State  is  then  at  liberty  to  make 
such  a  law  for  itself.  This  point,  however,  has  been  established  only  after 
discussion  in  the  law  courts,  and  may  bo  said  to  belong  more  properly  to 
jurisprudence. 

•  The  action  of  this  court  is  indirect,  as  we  shall  hereafter  show. 

t  It  is  thus  that  the  Federalist,  No,  45,  explains  this  division  of  sover- 
eignty between  the  Union  and  the  States  :  •  ''  .'<c  powers  delegated  by  tlie 
Constitution  to  the  Federal  government  are  fen*  ur.tl  'U'-ied.  TIk  ,o  vhw\\ 
arc  to  remain  in  the  State  governments  ar  vin-  rout  und  indefinite.  The 
former  will  be  exercised  principally  on  external  objects,  as  war,  peace,  nego- 
tiation, and  foreign  commerce.  The  powers  reserved  to  the  several  States 
will  extend  to  all  the  objects  which,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  affairs,  concern 
the  internal  order  and  prosperity  of  the  State." 

I  shall  often  have  occasion  to  quote  the  Federalist  in  this  work.     Wlicn 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  14,0 

concluding  treaties  of  commerce,  raising  armies,  and  equip- 
p.ng  fleets,  was  tlierefore  granted  to  the  Union.     I'he  ne- 
cessity of  a  national  government  was  less  imperiously  felt 
m  the  conduct  of  the  internal  affairs  of  society;  but  there 
^re  certain  general  interests  which  can  only  bo  attended  to 
with  advantage  by  a  general  authority.     The  Union  was 
m  vested  with  the  power  of  controlling  the  monetary  sys- 
tem, carrying  the  mails,  and  opening  the  great  roads  which 
were  to  unite  the  different  parts  of  the  country.*     The 
independence   of   the   government    of   each   State   in  its 
sphere  was  recognized ;  yet  the  Federal  government  was 
authorized  to  interfere  in  the  internal  affairs  of  the  States  f 
in  a  few  predetermined  cases,  in  which  an  indiscreet  use  of 
their  independence  might  compromise  the  safety  of  the 
whole  Union.     Thus,  whilst  the  power  of  modifying  and 
changing  then-  legislation  at  pleasure  was  preserved  to  each 
of  the  confederate  republics,  they  are  forbidden  to  enact 
ex-po8t-facto^    laws,   or    to    grant    any   titles    of   nobility. 
Last  y,  as  it  was  necessary  that  the  Federal  government 
should  be  able  to  fulfil  its  engagements,  it  has  an  unlim- 
ited  power  of  levying  taxes. 
In  examining  the  division  of  powers,  as  established  by 

the  bill,  which  ha.  since  become  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  w« 
before  the  people,  and  the  discussions  were  still  pending,  three  men.  2o  Z 

jlr;!  T :: :'  ^''^^  ^'^'"^^  ^^'^^^  '^^^y  ^-  --  -jo^'t 

-John  Jay.  Kun.lton  Madison.  -  undertook  together  to  explain  to  the  nj 
ton  the  advantages  of  tl.e  measure  which  was  proposed.  With  this  vieT 
hey  pubhshed  m  a  oumal  a  series  of  articles,  wla^  now  form  a  comp leTe 
treat.se  They  entitled  their  journal  «  The  Federalist."  a  name  whrh  hi 
been  r  earned  m  the  work.    The  Federalist  is  an  excellent  book,  which  oughl 

•  Several  othm  powers  of  the  same  kind  exist,  such  as  that  of  legisbtinir 

ters  to  the  Federal  government  is  obvious  enough. 

t  Even  in  these  cases,  its  interference  is  indirect.     The  Union  interferes 
by  means  of  the  tribunals,  as  wiU  be  hereafter  shown 
10 


M                 ^    ■ 

ft' 

^K' 

K 

^^^H^nli 

I 


146 


DEMOCSACY  IN  AMERICA. 


the  Federal  Constitution,  remarking  on  the  one  liand  the 
portion  of  sovereignty  which  has  been  reserved  to  the  sev- 
eral States,  and  on  the  other,  tho  share  of  power  which  has 
been  given  to  the  Union,  it  is  evident  that  the  Federal 
legislators  entertained  very  clear  and  accm'ate  notions  rvt- 
specting  the  centralization  of  government.  The  United 
States  form  not  only  a  republic,  but  a  confedenition ;  yet 
the  national  authority  is  more  centralized  there  than  it 
was  in  several  of  the  absolute  monarchies  of  Europe.  I 
will  cite  only  two  examples. 

Thirteen  supreme  courts  of  justice  existed  in  France, 
which,  generally  speaking,  had  the  right  of  interpreting 
the  law  without  appeal ;  and  those  provinces  which  were 
styled  pai/8  cCEtat  were  authorized  to  refuse  their  assent 
to  an  impost  which  had  been  levied  by  the  sovereign,  who 
represented  the  nation. 

In  the  Union,  there  is  but  one  tribunal  to  interpret,  as 
there  is  one  legislature  to  make,  the  laws ;  and  an  impost 
voted  by  the  representatives  of.  the  nation  is  binding  upon 
all  the  citizens.  In  these  two  essential  points,  therefore, 
the  Union  is  more  centralized  than  the  French  monarchy, 
although  the  Union  is  only  an  assemblage  of  confederate 
republics. 

In  Spain,  certain  provinces  had  the  right  of  establishing 
a  system  of  custom-house  duties  peculiar  to  themselves, 
although  that  privilege  belongs,  by  its  veiy  nature,  to  the 
national  sovereignty.  In  America,  Congress  alone  has  the 
right  of  regulating  the  commercial  relations  of  the  States 
with  each  other.  The  government  of  the  confederation  is 
therefore  more  centralized  in  this  respect  than  the  kingdom 
of  Spain.  It  is  true,  that  the  power  of  the  crown  in 
France  or  Spain  was  always  able  to  obtain  by  force  what- 
ever the  constitution  of  the  country  denied,  and  that  the 
ultimate  result  was  consequently  the  same ;  but  I  am  here 
discussing  the  theory  of  the  constitution. 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  I47 

After  having  settled  the  limits  within  which  the  Fed- 
eral government  was  to  act,  the  next  point  was  to  deter- 
mme  how  it  should  be  put  in  action. 

LEGISLATIVE   POWERS   OF  THE    FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT. 
""iZnrr  of'f  '^^'""'-BcHly  into  Two  Bmnohe,.  -  D»n,„c.  in  .h. 

urn  of  .he  SovcrcBWy  of  ,hc  Na,i„„  ia  ,|,o  Compo.Ui„„  of  ,l,e  House 
can  be  Logical  only  wJien  the  Nation  is  Young. 

The  plan  wliich  had  been  laid  down  beforehand  in  the 
cor  citutions  of  the  several  States  was  followed,  in  many 
;^spects  m  the  organization  of  the  powers  of  the  Union. 
The  federal  legislature  of  the  Union  was  composed  of  a 
benate  and  a  House  of  Representatives.     A  spirit  of  com- 
promise caused  these  two  assemblies  to  be  constituted  on 
different  principles.     I  have  already  shown  that  two  inter- 
ests were  opposed  to  each  other  in  the  estaWishment  of 
the  Federal  Constitution.     These  two  interests  had  given 
nse  to  two  opinions.      It  was  the  wish  of  one  party  to 
convert  the  Umon  into  a  league  of  independent  States, 
or  a  sort  of  congress,  at  which  the  representatives  of  the 
several  nations  would  meet  to  discuss  certain  points  of 
common  interest.     The  other  party  desired  to  unite  the  in- 
habitants of  the  American  Colonies  into  one  and  the  samo 
people  and  to  establish  a  government,  which  should  act  as 
the  sole  representative  of  the  nation,  although  in  a  limited 
sphere.     The  practical  consequencer  of  these  two  theories 
were  very  different. 

If  the  object  was,  that  a  league  should  be  established 
instead  of  a  national  government,  then  the  majority  of 
the  States,  instead  of  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of 
tlie  Union,  would  make  the  laws :  for  every  State,  o-real 


148 


DKMOORACY   IN   AMliRICA. 


or  small,  would  then  remain  in  full  independence,  and 
enter  the  Union  upon  a  footing  of  perfect  equality.  If, 
however,  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  were  to  be 
considered  as  belonging  to  one  and  the  same  nation,  it 
would  be  natural  that  the  majority  of  the  citizens  of  the 
Union  should  make  the  law.  Of  course,  the  lesser  States 
could  not  subscribe  to  the  application  of  this  doctrine  with- 
out, in  fact,  abdicating  their  existence  in  respect  to  the 
sovereignty  of  the  Confederation ;  since  they  would  cease 
to  be  a  co-e:.;ual  and  co-authoritative  power,  and  become  an 
insignificant  fraction  of  a  great  people.  The  former  sys- 
tem would  have  invested  them  with  excessive  authority, 
the  latter  would  have  destroyed  their  influence  altogether. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  result  was,  that  the  rules 
of  logic  were  broken,  as  is  usually  the  case  when  interests 
are  opposed  to  arguments.  A  middle  course  was  hit  upon 
[)y  the  legislators,  which  brought  together  by  force  two 
systems  theoretically  irreconcilable. 

The  principle  of  the  independence  of  the  States  tri- 
umphed in  the  formation  of  the  Senate,  and  that  of  the 
sovereignty  of  the  nation  in  the  composition  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  Each  State  was  to  send  two  Senators 
to  Congress,  and  a  number  of  Representatives  proportioned 
to  its  population.* 


It  results  from  this  arrangement  that 


*  Every  ten  years,  Congress  fixes  anew  the  number  of  Reproscntarives 
which  each  State  is  to  furnish.     The  total  nun)ber  was  69  in  1789,  and  240 

in  1833, 

The  Constitution  decided  that  there  should  not  be  more  than  one  Repre- 
sentative for  every  30,000  persons ;  but  no  minimum  was  fixed  on.  Con- 
gress has  not  thought  fit  to  augment  the  number  of  Representatives  in  pro- 
portion to  the  increase  of  population.  The  first  Act  which  was  passed  on 
the  subject  (Uthof  April,  1792)  decided  that  there  should  be  one  Rei)resent- 
ative  for  every  33,000  inhabitants.  The  Act  which  was  passed  in  1852  fixes 
the  proportion  at  one  for  93,423,  and  made  the  House  consist  of  234  mem- 
bers. The  population  represented  is  composed  of  all  the  freemen,  and  of 
three  fifths  of  the  slaves.  —  am.  i:u. 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  14^ 

^he  State  of  New  York  lioo  of  *i, 

awaro  his  two  Senator.,  »„,!  ,  '""'  ""=  State  of  Del- 
State  of  DeWa  ~e'J„  ^  T  «''P^<^^^"'»'ive ;  the 
York  in  the  L^e  w    W  T  r™'  1°  "'"  ^"'"'  "f  New 

the  influence  oflrfoLttn"  ""r^J'"^''  ""- 
«ves.     Thus,  the  minoX  rf  .t   "^^  °^  ^^P'^^enta- 

may  paralyze  the  deSof  the    "     ""   '"  ""^  ^™""' 

the  other  fw,  whierre::t*;:r^jr:r  ;^^^ 

tutional  government.  ^        ^  consti- 

These  facts  show  how  rare  anrl  ri.-ffl.  u  :  - 
and  logically  to  combine  al    the  sevet1^"^•'  '.^  ''-'r^"^ 
The  course  of  time  always  Xes  bh  th  L^ff       ''^"'''^"• 
and  sanctions  different  Zf'T  ^'^^""^"^  interests, 

and  when  a  genetTclSn  V  H!  ^Th  f?'^ ' 
mterests  and  princinlp.  av.  established,  these 

the  .gorons  ap';H:;5^on„  v^s—  :tr'- .;» 

«tHct.yi;-ea.f  a^a  w  .rp^:^!  ^nlf  ^  't'-"" 
joyment  of  this  advanta<re  we  slmnH  m  •,'"  "■"  *"" 
that  it  is  wise,  but  only  ^^  le  °lt  "  '"'^  """'"'"''= 
".e  Fedeml  Constitutionvarfo™  ^ Ji"  r"^"  ^"^ 
pendcnee  for  the  sepa.te  States  a„d  i  ^'If  ■"'" 
for  the  whole  people  w^rp  ih^      i  "^^^rest  of  union 

-  "•'"•eh  -^^^^^:t:2^^^  ^^■ 

oomprom,se  was  necessarily  n>ade  be.leenThem  ' 

™feht  have  been  fie    "liTe'sTae:"  ^"''"''"'''' 
contignous;  their  customs,  tWr  L  ll  thy'"'"^"  '"' 

-Ives  together  in  the  Senate  .1  oppL  the  tff  rfZ 


■  i  i 


I   i 


f*,  . 


150 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


larger  ones.  Besides,  there  is  so  irresistible  an  authority 
in  the  legal  expression  of  the  will  of  a  people,  that  the 
Senate  could  offer  but  a  feeble  opposition  to  the  vote  of  the 
majority  expressed  by  the  House  of  Representatives. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  moreover,  that  it  was  not  in 
the  power  of  the  Amerirran  legislators  to  reduce  to  a  single 
nation  the  people  for  whom  they  were  making  laws.  The 
object  of  the  Federal  Constitution  was  not  to  destroy  the 
independence  of  the  States,  but  to  restrain  it.  By  acknowl- 
edging the  real  power  of  these  secondary  communities,  (and 
it  was  impossible  to  deprive  them  of  it,)  they  disavowed 
beforehand  the  habitual  use  of  constraint  in  enforcing  the 
decisions  of  the  majority.  This  being  laid  down,  the  intro- 
duction of  the  influence  of  the  States  into  the  mechanism 
of  the  Federal  government  was  by  no  means  to  be  won- 
dered at ;  since  it  only  attested  the  existence  of  an  acknowl- 
edged power,  which  was  to  be  humored,  and  not  forcibly 
checked. 


A    FURTHER   DIFFERENCE    BETWEEN    THE    SENATE   AND    THE 
HOUSE   OF   REPRESENTATIVES. 

The  Senate  named  by  the  State  Legislatures ;  the  Representatives  by  the 
People.  — Double  Election  of  the  former;  single  Election  of  the  latter. 
—  Term  of  the  different  Offices.  —  Peculiar  Functions  of  each  House. 

The  Senate  differs  from  the  other  House,  not  only  in  the 
very  principle  of  representation,  but  also  in  the  mode  of  its 
election,  in  the  term  for  which  it  is  chosen,  and  in  the 
nature  of  its  functions.  The  House  of  Representatives 
is  chosen  by  the  people,  the  Senate  by  the  legislatures  of 
each  State  ;  the  former  is  directly  elected,  the  latter  is 
elected  by  an  elected  body ;  the  term  for  which  the  Rep- 
resentatives are  chosen  is  only  two  years,  that  of  the  Sena- 
tors is  six.  The  functions  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
are  purely  legislative,  and  the  only  share  it  takes  in  the 


M 


THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION.  151 

jaicial  power  is  in  the  impeachment  of  public  office,. 
The  Senate  coK.perates  in  the  work  of  legislation,  and  M^ 

^Ctf-^  "f  ^  '"^  '''"^  °'  Repr;::i;te: 

,      p      J  '""'  *'  "^''^»  ''•»'=•>  »>•«  concluded  by 

the  President  must  be  ratified  by  the  Senate  •  C  the 
appomtments  he  may  make,  in  „X  to  be  d^ti'tive  „.« 
be  approved  by  the  same  body.  ' 

THE  EXECnXIVE   POWEK. 
D.pend»ce  of  ,h.  P„,iaeat.  _  He  Is  Electiy.  .„d  B^ponsm       P™. 
^e^Seo.«.-H,s  S...,y  flxed  ..  U.  Eo»j  i„«  Offlce.  -  Su-pensiv. 

The  American  legislator  undertook  a  difficult  task  ,n 

matCoVtl""'^  r  T"''™  """«'  O^P""''-'  -  ' 
majority  of  the  people,  and  nevertheless  sufficiently  stron-r 

pensable  to  the  mamtenance  of  the  republican  form  of 

r  M  r    'k-'""  ""^  -P'«-"'="ive  of  the  execntivZwer 
should  be  subject  to  the  will  of  the  nation.  '^ 

The  President  is  an  elective  magistrate.     His  honor  hi, 
property  his  liberty,  and  his  life  a°re  the  securities  wiueh 
he  people  have  for  the  tempemte  use  of  his  power     But  n 
he  exercise  of  his  authority,  he  is  not  perfectly  indepen- 
dent; the  Senate  takes  cognizance  of  his  relations  S 

Lrsrz'hr'  "^'"f  ^^'^"""■••>»  -^  p->>hc  a  p::f: 

ments    so  that  he  can  neither  corrupt  nor  be  cbrnipted 

The  legislators  of  the  Union  acknowledge  that  thTTx^c: 

.  ive  power  could  not  fiilfil  its  task  ^ith  dignity  ard 

dvant^e    unless  it  enjoyed  more  stability  and  s^e.,1 

th.^  had  been  granted  it  in  the  sepamte  StaL.  ^ 

re-decte/-t'n   ^f  T  '"  '""'  ^""'  »<>  •">  -^  ^ 
elected,  so  that  the  chances  of  a  future  administmtion 


1 

v 

m 

f 

1 

^  1 


I  \ 


mmam 


152 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


may  inspire  him  with  hopefiil  undertakings  for  the  public 
good,  and  give  him  the  means  of  carrying  them  into  execu 
tion.  The  President  was  made  the  sole  representtitive  of  the 
^-^executive  power  of  the  Union  ;  and  care  was  taken  not  to 
render  his  decisions  subordinate  to  the  vote  of  a  council,  — 
a  dangerous  measure,  which  tends  at  the  same  time  to  clog 
the  action  of  the  government  and  to  diminish  its  responsi- 
bility. The  Senate  has  the  right  of  annulling  certain  acts 
of  the  President ;  but  it  cannot  compel  him  to  take  any 
steps,  nor  does  it  participate  in  the  exercise  of  the  executive 
power. 

The  action  of  the  legislature  on  the  executive  power 
may  be  direct,  and  we  have  just  shown  that  the  Ameri- 
cans carefully  obviated  this  influence ;  but  it  may,  on  the 
other  hand,  be  indirect.  Legislative  assemblies  which 
have  the  power  of  depriving  an  officer  of  state  of  his  sal- 
ary encroach  upon  his  independence  ;  and  as  they  are  free 
to  make  the  laws,  it  is  to  be  feared  lest  they  should  gradu- 
ally appropriate  to  themselves  a  portion  of  that  authority 
which  the  Constitution  had  vested  in  his  hands.  This 
dependence  of  the  executive  power  is  one  of  the  defects 
inherent  in  republican  constitutions.  The  Americans  have 
not  been  able  to  counteract  the  tendency  which  legislative 
assemblies  have  to  get  possession  of  the  government,  but 
they  have  rendered  this  propensity  less  irresistible.  The 
salary  of  the  President  is  fixed,  at  the  time  of  his  entering 
upon  office,  for  the  whole  period  of  his  magistracy.  The 
President  is,  moreover,  armed  with  a  suspensive  veto, 
which  allows  him  to  oppose  the  passing  of  such  laws  as 
might  destroy  the  portion  of  independence  which  the  Con- 
stitution awards  him.  Yet  the  struggle  between  the  Presi- 
dent and  the  legislature  must  always  be  an  unequal  one, 
since  the  latter  is  certain  of  bearing  down  all  resistance  by 
persevering  in  its  plans ;  but  the  suspensive  veto  forces  it, 
at  least,  to  reconsider  the  matter,  and,  if  the  motion  be 


THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION.  153 

adopts  this  meannTp St*  'r  'T"^  "P"'^'"'- 

tives.    But  if  the  1 J  W     ^  ™'^  "*""?  '''»  ««>■ 

■•'  not ..«;  Xr^:;:  ^rtireV"/''  r^  "'■" 

the  constitution,  of  „„  nations.rfX'L  kind  ^  ''  '" 
be,  a  certain  point  exists  at  which  Til  I.     i.  °^  ""^ 

recourse  to  the  Mod  ,„„./  T'^      .     '^S'^'^'or  must  have 
^ens.     This  n^W  *""•  *°  ""^"^  "^  his  fellow-citi- 

in  monarchies  •  bnTlT       *"f  """*  '^'^^y  concealed 
no  count,;  i;;hrel;™{^  "'"''  r^-''^^-     There  is 

laws,  or  iU:^t^t:i:2^r'"'' "-  '^  *« 

fto  for  common  sle  and  X^ZL^.  ""^  "  ™'>'"- 

OF   FRANCE.  '^  "'  *  CONSTrrUTIONAL  KISO 

Legislature. -The  Presid™,  .r,.  ^^  °  R°e>Bmnch  of  the 
idea,  checked  in  thf  ExTrehe  ffT  ^  °  ""'  ''°'™"- "  ^'«'  I^» 
-  -io  to  .  Bep-cTaThe'ir  "^  .XS°°1;  ""^  '' 

.he  fetSri^Xftha"^  r  •rr'T'  ^" '"«"--  - 

on  this  portion  oTmTLbt.  in  n  d  '"  ''"^"  «'"■  ^  '-'»« 

plain  the  part  it  suslfns'  X  rier  To  t"'^"'  ^^^ 

nlear  and  precise  idpo  nf  .1,       ^?"''^-     ^"  ^^^^er  to  form  a 

precis.  Idea  of  the  position  of  the  President  of 


1 1 


i  'I 


154 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMKRICA. 


the  United  States,  it  may  be  well  to  compare  it  with  tliat 
of  one  of  the  constitutional  kings  of  Europe.     In  this  com- 
parison, I  shall  pay  but  little  attention  to  the  external  signs 
of  power,  which  are  more  apt  to  deceive  the  eye  of  the 
observer  than  to  guide  his  researches.     When  a  monarchy 
is  being  gradually  transformed  into  a  republic,  the  execu- 
tive power  retains  the  titles,  the  honors,  the  etiquette,  and 
even  the  funds  of  royalty,  long  after  its  real  authority  has 
disappeared.     The  English,  after  having  cut  off  the  head 
of  one  king,  and  expelled  another  from  his  throne,  were 
still  wont  to  address  the  successors  of  those  princes  only 
upon  their  knees.     On  the  other  hand,  when  a  republic 
falls  under  the  sway  of  a  single  man,  the  demeanor  of  the 
sovereign  remains  as  simple  and  unpretending  as  if  his  au- 
thority was  not  yet  paramount.     When  the  Emperors  ex- 
ercised an  unlimited  control  over  the  fortunes  and  the  lives 
of  their  fellow-citizens,   it  was   customary  to  call   them 
C^sar  in  conversation;  and  they  were  in  the  habit  of 
supping  without  formality  at  their  friends'  houses.     It  is 
therefore  necessary  to  look  below  the  surface. 

The  sovereignty  of  the  United  States  is  shared  between 
the  Union  and^the  States,  whilst,  in  France,  it  is  undivided 
and  compact:  hence  arises  the  first  and  most  notable  dif- 
ference which  exists  between  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  the  King  of  France.  In  the  United  States,  the 
executive  power  is  as  limited  and  exceptional  as  the  sover- 
eignty in  whose  name  it  acts  ;  in  France,  it  is  as  universal 
as^the  authority  of  the  State.  The  Americans  have  a  Fed- 
eral, and  the  French  a  national  government. 

This  cause  of  inferiority  results  from  the  nature  of 
things,  but  it  is  not  the  only  one ;  the  second  ir  impor- 
tance is  as  follows.  Sovereignty  may  be  defined  to  be  the 
right  of  making  laws.  In  France,  the  King  really  exercises 
a  portion  of  the  sovereign  power,  since  the  laws  have  no 
weio-ht  if  he  reftises  to  sanction  them  ;  he  is,  moreover,  the 


THE  FEDEBAI,  CONSTITUTION.  155 

cxeciit(,r  of  all  thov  ordain      Ti,    d     • , 
ecutor  of  the  law,     butl,'     7  "''™'  "  «''"  "■«  «- 

-king  them,  .inTo'the  .tsl^Tf  t  """^  r''^""^  ■" 
vent  -.heir  passage.  He  h  not  tl  f  °^'"' ''°'''  •""  P"^ 
ereig.,  power,  bw  onlvi^  "If 't?  "  ""'  "'  "'«  'o^- 
King  of  France  eonftitlTportt  oTt.""'^  ''''"  *« 
power;  he  also  contributes  to  the  ^^  '°™'*'8" 

latu,.,  which  is  the  o  her  port  on  T""'""  "^  "'« '«g- 
tl.n>ugh  appointing  the  membeTof  o^'  r'T*"''^  '"  "' 
solving  the  other  at  hirnr  T  ''''»"'»■•.  and  dis- 

of  the  United  sJtes  ht  fr^'-^^t''^  "'^  P'^^"-' 
i..-.a.ive  bod,,  a^  ct,oTd  :Z7t  "xt"*^""""^  *« 
-me  right  of  bringing  forward  m  asLI  he  c!  V'" 
-a  nght  wh  ch  the  President  does  not  poslf  T,  t""' 
IS  represented  in  parh  oo.     ui    ,     '  .  P^^^^^s.     IheKinfj 

plain  his  intention  Tnnnlf'^  "'^  "'  ""'"'"«-•  -ho  ex! 
principles  of  th  g  Zl'r  ""p  ™w'"™''^"  *« 
ministers  are  aKke^.~froJp  ■^"'^™'  ""''  •■« 
influence  and  his  ODi„rn?l  ,  "^'''  '"  *at  his 
into  that  great  bodT  Z  K  ""'f  r"^'""«  '"'^'^'^'^y 
on  an  equd  footing  witluL  if  f -"^  ^'T'  '''  *-««>■•«. 
act  without  him  th'an  h  t  ^f, t  "tTt" "  Th''  p"  "".  ""'"' 
J.d  beside  the  legislature  ,iJt:!:Lora:dX^^^^^^^ 

.oi'itx%itLrhe-t-^--->^ 

most  analogous  to  that  of' the  Kg  '^p"  '^™ '"  >- 

aCvanlge  of^ZZ  or^tTthe  Vn.''''"^' *« 
dnrability  is  one  of  the  ohilf  T  P'-'^s"lent;  and 

ing  is  either  loved  of  Ltd  ,^tTvra^"f^-*^  "'"'" 
The  President  of  the  UnM  S  ^tl  "  ^^'^  '°  ^"<'""'' 
for  four  y»rs.  The  Ki^f  t  ^  '  '™«'''™'"  '^""'^ 
ereign.  S' '"  *"""^«'  "  an  hereditaiy  soy- 


f, 


ii 


156 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


In  the  exercise  of  the  executive  power,  the  President  of 
the  United  States  is  constantly  subject  to  a  jealous  super- 
vision. He  may  prepare,  but  he  cannot  conclude,  a  treaty; 
he  may  nominate,  but  he  cannot  appoint,  a  public  officer.* 
The  King  of  France  is  absolute  within  the  sphere  of  exec- 
utive power. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  is  responsible  for 
his  actions ;  but  the  person  of  the  King  is  declared  invi- 
olable by  French  law. 

Nevertheless,  public  opinion  as  a  directing  power  is  no 
less  above  the  head  of  the  one  than  of  the  other.  This 
power  is  less  definite,  less  evident,  and  less  sanctioned  by 
the  laws  in  France  than  in  America ;  but  it  really  exists 
there.  In  America,  it  acts  by  elections  and  decrees;  in 
France,  it  proceeds  by  revolutions.  Thus,  notwithstanding 
the  different  constitutions  of  these  two  countries,  public 
opinion  is  the  predominant  authority  in  both  of  them. 
The  fundamental  principle  of  legislation  —  a  principle 
essentially  republican  —  is  the  same  in  both  countries, 
although  its  developments  may  be  more  or  less  free,  and 
its  consequences  different.     Whence  I  am  led  to  conclude, 

•  The  Constitution  has  left  it  doubtful  whether  the  President  is  obliged 
to  consult  the  Senate  in  the  removal  as  well  aa  in  the  appointment  of  Fed 
era!  officers.  The  Federalist  (No.  77)  seemed  to  estivblisii  the  affirmative; 
but  in  1789,  Congress  formally  decided,  that,  as  the  President  was  responsible 
for  his  actions,  he  ought  not  to  be  forced  to  employ  agents  who  had  forfeited 
his  esteem.  See  Kent's  Commentaries,  Vol.  I.  p.  289.  [See  also  Daniel 
Webster's  speech  on  the  Appointing  and  Removing  Power,  Webster's  Works, 
IV.  185  ;  Marshall's  Washington,  V.  196 ;  Sergeant  &  Rawle's  Reports,  V. 
451.  The  decision  of  Congress  upon  this  subject  in  1789  was  by  a  very 
small  majority  in  the  House,  and  in  the  Senate  it  passed  only  by  the  casting 
vote  of  the  Vice-President.  And  this  decision  is  only  by  infwence  from  the 
d.ct  thus  passed,  which  provides,  that,  when  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
ihould  be  removed  by  the  President,  his  assistant  shall  discharge  the  duties 
of  the  office.  Mr.  Spencer  riglitly  observes,  that  the  power  has  l»een 
«  repeatedly  denied  in  and  out  of  Congress,  and  must  be  considered  as  yet 
an  unsettled  question."  —  Am.  Ed.] 


■niE  FEDERAl   CCVSlilUTION.  ^57 

that  France  with  it.  King  i,  nearer  akin  to  a  republic  than 
tl.e  Umon  w«h  its  President  is  .0  a  monarchy  '^^  "^ 

partm   sovereignty,  whilst  that  of  the  Kh, "  •„  ,"  " 

:att -rs^r  ™^^  '-"•'^^^'-~U': 

vate  interests.     Amongst  the  eyamnlo.  „f  .i  •    •  ^    '^ 
may  be  quoted  that  whM,  .«ultrfi„      ..  '  ""'"™''" 

of  public  fonctionariJ  wL  :«  1^:".^?  g-at  number 
from  the  executive  g^vernm^u  T,l  '  T"'"""™'^ 
ceeds  all  previous  hmlts ;  it  11^:138^00^ """•"■ 
tions,  each  of  which  mav  b.  J„  •  1      ,        '     "    """""»■ 

power.     The  PrZ^l'ouCv'^ sir  :'""'"'  "' 
exclusive  rial.f  „f  ^.i-  ^^^  ^*^*^^  ^as  not  the 

-.  who,:'^lt:::;:^,7ceetf,^„^r-^^ '"" 

.^  many  pta«,  a.  hi.  dtatT^rtt^i^?  1u"^'°  ''"  *™»  "■«■=» 

United  Staec  i,  „„„  IC.  L  11°  f      "^  "'  ">«  '■'^*«  "f  .he 
operation  „f  „„,  „„i„„.,rc™™„r  ^r  "  T™"'  *■«»"  ■•»  *• 

l»in.n„n,.  either  direCy  or  indirecrim  ,h!  P  "^^^  *"™  """  "^ 
»»ee  oniy  durin,  hi.  piLro,  and  1.7„  l^*"'  .""^  ™-i»"'  '» 
.eu^hent.  a.  every  ehan^  of  •^i-istratioMrrelTL,":":::  It 


1 


168 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


ACCIDENTAL  CAUSES  WHICH   MAY   INCREASE  THE  INFTUENCE 
OF   THE   EXECUTIVE    GOVERNMENT. 

External  Security  of  the  Union.  —  Army  of  six  thousand  Men.  —  Few 
Ships.  —  The  President  has  great  rrcrogativea,  but  no  Opportunity  of 
exercising  thcin.  —  In  the  Prerogatives  which  he  does  exercise,  ho  it 
Weak. 

If  the  executive  government  is  feebler  in  America  than 
In  France,  the  cause  is  perhaps  more  attributable  to  the 
circumstances  than  to  the  laws  of  the  country. 

It  is  chiefly  in  its  foreign  relations  that  the  executive 
power  of  a  nation  finds  occasion  to  exert  its  skill  and  its 
strength.     If  the  existence  of  the  Union  were  perpetually 
threatened,  if  its  chief  interests  were  in  daily  connection 
with  those  of  other  powerful  nations,  the  executive  gov- 
ernment would  assume  an  increased  importance  in  propor- 
tion to  the  measures  expected  of  it,  and  to  those  which  it 
would  execute.     The  President  of  the  United  States,  it  is 
true,  is  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  but  the  army 
is  composed  of  only  six  thousand  men ;  he  commands  the 
fleet,  but  the  fleet  reckons  but  few  sail ;  he  conducts  the 
foreign  relations  of  the  Union,  but  the  United  States  are 
a  nation  without  neighbors.     Separated  from  the  rest  of 
the  world  by  the  ocean,  and  too  weak  as  yet  to  aim  at  the 
dominion  of  the  seas,  they  have  no  enemies,  and  their  in- 
terests rarely  come  into  contact  with  those  of  any  other 
nation  of  the  globe.     This  proves  that  the  practical  opera- 
tion of  the  government  must  not  be  judged  by  the  theory 
of  its  constitution.     The  President  of  the  United  States 
possesses  almost  royal  prerogatives,  which  he  has  no  op- 
portunity of  exercising,  and  the  privileges  which  he  can  at 

Huence  of  the  executive  government,  through  the  number  of  places  at  iti 
disposal,  has  become  excessive,  and  imperils  both  the  moral  character  and  the 
stability  of  our  republican  institutions.  —  Am.  Ed.1 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION. 


lo9 

present  use  are  very  circumscribed      Th.  . 
•o  bo  strong  but  circumstanc:  l^p  hil'L'r     '""' '"" 

from  ti,e  law,.     tC  tl«  "  "'T"^''='  *"  "'"^  ''«"> 
»tantly  »t„,ggli„/^l,™™''™  government  i,  con- 

mense  resouteslnTderM  '°  "bstocles,  and  has  im- 
enlarged  by  the  e.tent  „f  -rT"""  "'"""  '^  "'«  ''  ^ 
impo^anceVlhe  evlT.  U  c'ont::^™r '''  """  ""^  "'" 
constitution.  If  „,«  W  Cd t,! ""• '"""  "-""fy'-g  "' 
circumscribed  as  that  0^,0^1  rr  "'  '^''"'^  «'«'  «« 

would  soon  become  ^ufmt  p^^r"' '''»  -fluonc. 

CAKKV  ON    THE   GOVERNMENT  '^    '"   <"«'^''   ™ 

«f  *«  legisla^^f  Tut  sevelV-y  ""  '™  •'™-'- 
States  have  been  kno™  tlT       P'^'dents  of  the  United 

'ive  body,  without  ti™  £a  t  Tf?^  "."'^  '^^'^■ 
power,  and  without  inflfcti,^  a^v  "  ■  "'^''^,  ""^  ^"P"""" 
I  We  heard  this  fact  ,uoK  ^^r  t^'i^r  t"^" 
and  the  power  of  the  executive  80™—^!""''""' 
a  moment's  reflection  will  „      .S"™™inent  m  America: 

'hat  it  is  a  proof  oft  JlnT"'  "''  °"  *^  ~»'-7. 

*e  constitution,  La™e  lost  ttirar"  "P""  '^'»  "^ 
constitutional  kin»  in  Enmn!-  enormous.     A 

of  the  law,  but  iZ^^;r,:^}^  *Y  T""" 
completely  upon  him  tb»t  1..^  ™^P™™ions  devolves  so 
it»  Le  ff  it'^  oppJe;  'h  a  t'Z  *«!""""'  ^ ^™= 
-  of  the  .e,s,ative  assemb^  J^/ZZttZ 


■% 


100 


DEMOCRACY    IN   AMERICA. 


assemblies  need  his  aid  to  execute  it.  These  two  author 
ities  cannot  subsist  without  each  other,  and  the  mechan- 
ism of  government  is   stopped  as   soon  as   they  are  at 

variance. 

In  America,  the  President  cannot  prevent  any  law  from 
being  passed,  nor  can  he  evade  the  obligation  of  enforcing 
it.  His  sincere  and  zealous  co-operation  is  no  doubt  usefiil, 
but  is  not  indispensable,  in  carrying  on  pubUc  afiairs.  In 
all  his  important  acts,  he  is  directly  or  indirectly  subject  to 
the  legislature ;  and  of  his  own  free  authority,  he  can  do 
but  little.  It  is  therefore  his  weakness,  and  not  his  power, 
which  enables  hrni  to  remain  in  opposition  to  Congress.  In 
Europe,  harmony  must  reign  between  the  crown  and  the 
legislature,  because  a  collision  between  them  may  prove 
serious  ;  in  America,  this  harmo'  is  not  indispensable, 
because  such  a  collision  is  impossible. 


ELECTION    OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 


Mmi 


The  Dangers  of  the  Elective  System  increase  in  Proportion  to  the  Extent 
of  the  Prerogative.  —  This  System  possible  in  America,  because  no 
powerful  Executive  Authority  is  required.  —  How  Circumstances  favor 
the  Establishment  of  the  Elective  System.  —  Why  the  Election  of  the 
President  does  not  change  the  Principles  of  the  Government.  —  Influ- 
ence of  the  Election  of  the  President  on  Secondary  Functionaries. 

The  dangers  of  the  system  of  election,  applied  to  the 
chief  of  the  executive  government  of  a  great  people,  have 
been  sufficiently  exemphfied  by  experience  and  by  his- 
tory.   I  wish  to  speak  of  them  in  reference  to  America 

alone. 

These  dangers  may  be  more  or  less  formidable  in  pro- 
portion to  the  place  which  the  executive  power  occupies, 
and  to  the  importance  it  possesses  in  the  state ;  and  they 
may  vary  according  to  the  mode  of  election,  and  the  cir- 


'm^ii»atiiia^M^'A»ikai>f!^'i  ^a(>^\ 


.i^^SttWf,*^... 


THE  FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  161 

cum3tances  in  which  the  electors  are  placed.     ITie  most 
weigh  yar^xnent  against  the  election  of  a  chief  magistrate, 
18,  that  It  offe^  so  splendid  a  lure  to  private  ambition,  and 
IS  so  apt  to  mflame  men  in  the  pursuit  of  power,  that,  when 
legitimate  means  are.  wanting,  force  may  not  unfrequently 
seize  what  right  denied.     It  is  clear  that,  the  greater  the 
prerogatives  of  executive  authority  are,  the  greater  is  the 
temptation ;  the  more  the  ambition  of  the  candidates  is  ex- 
cited, the  more  warmly  are  their  interests  espoused  bv  a 
throng  of  partisans,  who  hope  to  share  the  power  when 
heir  patron  has  won  the  prize.     The  dangers  of  the  elec 
tive  system  increase,  therefore,  in  the  exact  ratio  of  the 
influence  exercised  by  the  executive  power  in  the  affairs  of 
the  state.     The  revolutions  of  Poland  are  not  solely  attril>. 
utable  to  the  elective  system  in  general,  but  to  the  fact 

ktgdom  "'"'"^'"^  ™  *^'  '""^'"'^^  '^  ^  P'^^^^^^ 

Before  we  can  discuss  the  absolute  advantages  of  the 
elective  system,  we  must  make  prehminary  inquiries  as  to 
whether  the  geographical  position,  the  laws,  the  habits,  the 
manners,  and  the  opinions  of  the  people,  amongst  whom  it 
IS  to  be  introduced,  will  admit  of  the  establishment  of  a 

tTrt dp    1'^"''"'  '"''"'^"^  government ;  for  to  attempt 
to  render  the  representative  of  the  state  a  powerful  sover- 

eXr   .''  ''"^^  '^''  '^'"''^'^  ^^'  ^"  "^y  «Pi"i«n,  to 

entertain  two  mco^.patible  designs.     To  reduce  hereditary 

royalty  to  the  condition  of  an  elective  authority,  the  only 

sTr!  T  •  '\^',^-r'^^  -th  are  to  circumscribe  il 
sphere  of  action  beforehand,  gradually  to  diminish  its  pre- 
rogatives,  and  to  accustom  the  people  by  degrees  to  live 
without  Its  protection.  But  this  is  what  the  republicans 
of  Europe  never  think  of  doing:  as  many  of  them  hate 
tyranny  only  because  they  are  exposed  to  its  severity,  it  is 
oppression,  and  not  the  extent  of  the  executive  power, 
wbch  excites  their  hostility;  and  they  attack  the  former 


I  ? 


HH' 


162 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


without  perceiving  how  nearly  it  is  connected  with  the 
latter. 

Hitherto,  no  citizen  has  cared  to  expose  his  honor  and  his 
life  in  order  to  become  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
because  the  power  of  that  office  is  temporary,  limited,  and 
subordinate.  The  prize  of  fortune  must  be  great  to  en- 
courage adventurers  in  so  desperate  a  game.  No  candi- 
date has  as  yet  been  able  to  arouse  the  dangerous  enthusi- 
asm or  the  passionate  sympathies  of  the  people  in  his  favor, 
for  the  simple  reason  that,  when  he  is  at  the  hedd  of  the 
government,  he  has  but  little  power,  little  wealth,  and  httle 
glory  to  share  amongst  his  friends  ;  and  his  influence  in  the 
state  is  too  small  for  the  success  or  the  ruin  of  a  faction  to 
depend  upon  his  elevation  to  power. 

The  great  advantage  of  hereditary  monarchies  is,  that, 
as  the  private  interest  of  a  family  is  always  intimately 
connected  with  the  interests  of  the  state,  these  state  inter- 
ests are  never  neglected  for  a  moment ;  and  if  the  affairs 
of  a  monarchy  are  not  better  conducted  than  those  of  a 
republic,  at  least  there  is  always  some  one  to  conduct  them, 
well  or  ill,  according  to  his  capacity.  In  elective  states,  on 
the  contrary,  the  wheels  of  government  cease  to  act,  as  it 
were,  of  their  own  accord,  at  the  approach  of  an  election, 
and  even  for  some  time  previous  to  that  e\ent.  The  laws 
may,  indeed,  accelerate  the  operation  of  the  election,  which 
may  be  conducted  with  such  simplicity  and  rapidity  that 
the  seat  of  power  will  never  be  left  vacant ;  but,  notwith- 
standing these  precautions,  a  break  necessarily  occurs  in 
the  minds  of  the  people. 

At  the  approach  of  an  election,  the  head  of  the  execu- 
tive government  thinks  only  of  the  struggle  which  is  com- 
ing on  ;  he  no  longer  has  anything  to  look  forward  to  ;  he 
can  undertake  nothing  new,  and  he  will  only  prosecute 
with  indifference  those  designs  which  another  will  perhaps 
terminate.     "  I  am  so  near  the  time  of  my  retirement  from 


«<i»»si*8«to»*i*.-  _iaito*i««»sM«»*aiai«i*  •u«.«i«««*!aiteji^ 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  1(J3 

office,"  said  President  Jeffemn,  on  the  21st  of  Janua^, 
t809,  (s,x  weeks  before  ti.e  eleetion,*)  "  that  I  feeTTo 
pa3s,on,  I  take  no  part,  I  express  no  seitiment  I  ala" 
to  me  just  to  leave  to  my  sueeessor  the  commencem   ftof 

xhich  he  wJl  be  responsible."    On  the  other  hand    the 
eyes  of  the  nation  are  cenf-ed  on  a  single  point    all  ^-e 
watehmg  the  gradual  birth  of  so  important  an'even't 
The  w,der  the  influence  of  the  executive  power  extends 

the  more  fetal  is   the  term  of  suspense ;   and  a  nation 
one  used  to  the  administration  of  a  powerful   exc-rutl.-l 

iT  .runL:it^  t'""^.  """™'^'''  v-  ezr 

in  t  le  United  States,  the  action  of  tlie  government  mav 

cL^rd:"*  ""''"""^'  "-^  ^'  '^  s™^^  w:t  s 

One  of  the  principal  vices  of  the  elective  system  is  that 
t  always  mtrodnces  a  certain  degree  of  instability  im     ho 
mtemal  and  external  policy  of  the  state.    But  this  disad 
vantage  .s  less  sensibly  felt  if  the  share  of  power  vested    i 
he  elected  magistrate  is  small.    I„  RoJ,  ^he  prtcTpl^ 
of  the  government  underwent  no  variation    althou"]    th^ 
Consuls  were  changed  every  year,  because  the  Senate 
vhjch  was  an  hcreditaty  assembly,  p.  .sossed  the  direett; 
authonty.      n  most  of  the  European  monarchies,  7fthf 
k  ng  were  electn-e,  the  kingdom  would  be  revolutionized 
at  eve^  new  election.    In  America,  the  President  e" 
a  certain  mfluence  on  state  affair,  but  he  does  not  condu« 

kf<^  M,  »>«„,,  j„,j    chotn  JTl'  1       ,  T'  """""  ""  """" 


'•    i| 


\m 


164 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


them ;  the  preponderating  power  is  vested  in  the  represent- 
atives of  the  whole  nation.  The  poUtical  maxims  of  the 
country  depend,  therefore,  on  the  mass  of  the  people,  not 
on  the  President  alone ;  and  consequently,  in  America,  the 
elective  system  has  no  very  prejudicial  influence  on  the 
fixity  of  the  government.  But  the  want  of  fixed  principles 
is  an  evil  so  inherent  in  the  elective  svstem,  that  it  is  still 
very  perceptible  in  the  narrow  sphere  to  which  the  author- 
ity of  the  President  extends. 

The  Americans  have  admitted  that  the  head  of  the  exec- 
utive power,  in  order  to  discharge  his  duty  and  bear  the 
whole  weight  of  responsibility,  ought  to  be  free  to  choose 
his  own  agents,  and  to  remove  them  at  pleasure :  the  legis- 
lative bodies  watch  the  conduct  of  the  President  more  than 
they  direct  it.  The  consequence  is,  that,  at  every  new 
election,  the  fate  of  all  the  Federal  public  officers  is  in 
suspense.  It  is  sometimes  made  a  subject  of  complaint, 
that,  in  the  constitutional  monarchies  of  Europe,  the  fate  of 
the  humbler  servants  of  an  administration  often  depends 
upon  that  of  the  ministers.  But  in  elective  governments 
this  evil  is  far  greater ;  and  the  reason  of  it  is  very  obvious. 
In  a  constitutional  monarchy,  successive  ministries  are 
rapidly  formed ;  but  as  the  principal  representative  of  the 
executive  power  is  never  changed,  the  spirit  of  innovation 
is  kept  within  bounds ;  the  changes  which  take  place  are 
in  the  details,  rather  than  in  the  principles,  of  the  adminis- 
trative system:  but  to  substitute  one  system  for  another, 
as  is  done  in  America  every  four  years  by  law,  is  to  cause 
a  sort  of  revolution.  As  to  the  misfortunes  which  may  fall 
upon  individuals  in  consequence  of  this  state  of  things,  it 
must  be  allowed  that  the  uncertain  tenure  of  the  public 
offices  does  not  produce  the  evil  consequences  in  America 
which  might  be  expected  from  it  elsewhere.  It  is  so  easy 
to  acquire  an  independent  position  in  the  United  States, 
that  the  public  officer  who   loses  his   place   may  be  de- 


-.:  iit'tMiiii(«»i,wi.<iiii.i<»-,<.ian.jii-ar«..niim<ii-MHTifaii«fe^a.. 


iaw«e*a;^B#Mia.i 


THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION.  Igg 

!^^^'  ^"'"''^ "' ""''  ^-  ■><"  »'  'h^  ■»-  «f 

dangers  of  the  elective  system,  applied  to  the  head  of  the 
stote,  are  augmented  or  decreased  by  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  the  people  which  adopts  it    However  theln" 
tons  of  the  executive  power  may  be  restricted,  it  mu  t 
a  ways  exerc.se  a  great  influence  upon  the  foreiL  .oC 
of  the  country;  for  a  negotiation  cannot  be  opUd    or 
successfidly  carried  on,  otherwise  than  by  a  single  a»nT 
The  more  precarious  and  the  more  perilous  the  plitifof 
a  people  becomes,  the  more  absolute  is  the  want'of  a  fixed 
and  consistent  ex-ernal  policy,  and  the  more  dan«ero,s 
te  the  system  of  electing  the  chief  magistrate  bTcom" 
The  pohcy  of  the  Americans  m  relation  to  the  wZk 
r      :\^^<=«^<'i"gly  -"Ple;   and  it  may  almost  be  saW 
that  nobody  stands  in  need  of  them,  nor  do  theysLt 
en^     I  7    '*^-     '^'^  '"dependence  is  nevl  threa" 

oft.  I  T  '"■'"""  "°"'*"'''"'  *«'•««"«.  the  functions 
ot  the  executive  power  are  no  less  limited  by  cu'cum- 

IT  r  \^'  '^^'■-  ""•»  *«  P-identVay T 
qnent ly  change  his  policy,  without  mvolring  the  state  in 
difficulty  or  destruction. 

Whatever  the  prerogative,  of  the  executive  power  may 
be,  the  period  which  immediately  precedes  an  election,ld 
that  dunng  which  the  election  is  talcing  place,  must  ajUys 
be  considered  as  a  national  crisis,  which  is  perilous  in  pl 
portion  to  the  internal  embarnissments  and  the  e"  ter,  d 
dangers  of  the  country.     Few  of  the  nations    fClt 
could  escape   the  calamities  of  anarchy  or  of  conouTs,  . 
every  time  they  might  have  to  elect  a  new  sovereS..    In 
America,  society  is  so  constituted  that  it  can  stand  without 
assistance,  upon  its  own  basis ;  nothing  is  to  be  feared  from 
the  pressure  of  external  dangers;  and  the  election  of  th" 
President  is  a  cause  of  agitation,  but  not  of  ruin. 


!Hi 


i  I 


166 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AIIERICA. 


MODE    OF    ELECTION. 


Skill  of  Uie  American  Legislators  ahovra  in  tlio  Mode  of  Election  adoptod 
by  them.  —  Creation  of  a  special  Electoral  Body.  —  Separate  Votes  of 
these  Electors.  —  Cose  in  whicli  the  House  of  Representatives  is  called 
upon  tr  choose  tlie  President.  —  Results  of  tlie  twelve  Elections  wbicli 
have  taken  place  since  the  Constitution  has  been  established. 

Besides  the  dangers  which  are  inherent  in  the  system, 
many  others  may  ai'ise  from  the  mode  of  election  ;  but 
these  may  be  obviated  by  the  precautions  of  the  legislator. 
When  a  people  met  in  arms,  on  some  public  spot,  to  choose 
its  head,  it  was  exposed  to  all  the  chances  of  civil  war  re- 
sulting from  such  a  mode  of  proceeding,  besides  the  dan- 
gers of  the  elective  system  in  itself.  The  Polish  laws, 
which  subjected  the  election  of  the  sovereign  to  the  veto 
of  a  single  individual,  suggested  the  murder  of  that  indi- 
vidual, or  prepared  the  way  for  anarchy. 

In  the  examination  of  the  institutions,  and  the  pohtical 
as  well  as  social  condition  of  the  United  States,  we  are 
struck  by  the  admirable  harmony  of  the  gifts  of  fortune 
and  the  efforts  of  man.  That  nation  possessed  two  of  the 
main  causes  of  internal  peace ;  it  was  a  new  country,  but  it 
was  inhabited  by  a  people  grown  old  in  the  exercise  of  free- 
dom. Besides,  America  had  no  hostile  neighbors  to  dread ; 
and  the  American  legislators,  profiting  by  these  favorable 
circumstances,  created  a  weak  and  subordinate  executive 
power,  which  could  without  danger  be  made  elective. 

It  then  only  remained  for  them  to  choose  the  least  dan- 
gerous of  the  various  modes  of  election ;  and  the  rules 
wliich  they  laid  down  upon  this  point  admirably  correspond 
to  the  securities  whicli  the  physical  and  political  constitu- 
tion of  the  country  already  afforded.  Their  object  was  to 
find  the  mode  of  election  which  would  best  express  the 
choice  of  the  people  with  the  least  possible  excitement  and 
suspense.     It  was  admitted,  in  the  first  place,  that   the 


■■MMHlHii 


.  iites«*(^M;«»4^,^h^-^ii'Ssitei**^t)(fe;6l»i*^^ 


THE   FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION.  107 

^tXi'^r"''.''"'''^  "■''»"•"  •>"«  the  difficult, 
was    0  obtain  this  majority  without  an  interval  of  delav 
which  It  was  most  important  to  avoid.     It  rarely  happem 
tfu.t^  individual  can  receive  at  the  first  trial  a  ma^L; 

enhanced^r^"  "J'^!  P^"'"''''  """'  ""^  "ifficul'ty  I 
enhanced  in  a  republic  of  confederate  states,  where  local 
■nfluenees  are  far  more  developed  and  mo^.  ZeM 

Td  77,  '  "'"*  "  "=^  P'''P<«^<»  t"  obviate  to  set 
ond  obstacle  was,  to  delegate  the  electonU  powers  of  le 
nation  to  a  body  which  should  represent  it.  Tim  mode  of 
dection  rendered  a  majority  more  probable ;  (ordTf^Jr 
the  electors  are,  the  greater  is  the  chance  of  their  com^nl 
o  an  agreement.    It  also  offered  an  additional  plZTZ 

lthe:trLt'7-/'-''^"  ''"^"'"'  *»  ^  '^ 
wneuier  til  s  nght  of  election  was  to  be  intrusted  to  tl,P 

legislature  itself,  the  ordinaiy  representative  of  the  ntti^ 

or  whether  a  special  electoral  college  should  be  folcd  fc 

the  sole  purpose  of  choosing  a  President.     The  Arerfca^s 

chose  the  latter  alternative,  from  a  belief  that  those  X 

we«  ch.«en  only  to  make  the  laws  would  «,present  but 

perfectly  the  wishes  of  the  nation  in  the  electiW  its 

chief  magistrate,   and  that,  as  they  are  chosen  for  1™ 

than  a  year,  the  constituency  they  represented  might  hZ 

changed  Its  opmion  in  that  time.     It  was  thought  *at  If 

the  legislature  was  empowered  to  elect  the  head  „f  'the 

executive  power,  its  members  would,  for  some  time  befl 

Zdd  yr      "^'"'"S^'-'   "hereas  the  special  electoi^ 
thetiv tf     .•"'^'  r"".  '"'="'''  "P  ""•'  *e  crowd  till 

It  was   therefore  determined   that  eveiy  State  should 
name  a  certain  number  of  Elector.,,  who  in  their trn 


1 1 


M»*sjmiMsmiM>i. 


!i>iiPiiiiMnH 


168 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


should  elect  the  President ;  and  as  it  had  been  observed, 
that  the  assemblies  to  which  the  choice  of  a  chief  magistrate 
had  been  intrusted  in  elective  countries  inevitably  became 
the  centres  of  passion  and  cabal ;  that  they  sometimes 
usurped  powers  which  did  not  belong  to  them ;  and  that 
their  proceedings,  or  the  uncertainty  which  resulted  from 
them,  were  sometunes  prolonged  so  much  as  to  endanger 
tlie  welfare  of  the  state,  —  it  was  determined  that  the  Elec- 
tors should  all  vote  upon  the  same  day,  without  being  con- 
voked to  the  same  place.*  This  double  election  rendered 
a  majority  probable,  though  not  certain  ;  for  it  was  possible 
that  the  Electors  might  not,  any  more  than  their  constituents, 
come  to  an  agreement.  In  this  case,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  have  recourse  to  one  of  three  measures  ;  either  to  appoint 
new  Electors,  or  to  consult  a  second  time  those  already  ap- 
pointed, or  to  give  the  election  to  another  authority.  The 
first  two  of  these  alternatives,  independently  of  the  uncer- 
tainty of  their  results,  were  likely  to  delay  the  final  de- 
cision, and  to  perpetuate  an  agitation  which  must  always 
be  accompanied  with  danger.  The  third  expedient  was 
therefore  adopted,  and  it  was  agreed  that  the  votes  should 
be  transmitted,  sealed,  to  the  President  of  the  Senate,  and 
that  they  should  be  opened  and  counted  on  an  appointed 
day,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. If  none  of  the  candidates  has  received  a 
majority,  the  House  of  Representatives  then  proceeds  im- 
mediately to  elect  the  President;  but  with  the  condition 
that  it  must  fix  upon  one  of  the  three  candidates  who  have 
the  highest  number  of  votes  in  the  Electoral  CoUege.f 

*  The  Electors  of  the  same  State  assemble,  but  they  transmit  to  the  cen- 
tral government  the  list  of  their  individual  votes,  and  not  the  mere  result 
of  the  vote  of  the  majority. 

t  In  this  case,  it  is  the  majority  of  the  States,  and  not  the  majority  of  the 
members,  which  decides  the  question ;  so  that  New  York  has  not  more  influ- 
ence in  the  debate  than  Rhode  Island.  Thus  the  citizens  of  the  Union  are 
first  consulted  as  members  of  one  and  the  same  community ;  and,  if  they 


'  ^•a>afl<fc*aMW*rfawiwarti^^ 


THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION  IQq 

i^t'ind  IS  ::;r  •"  r ;™"'  "'-■='■  "=-»-"  ""- 

»  intrusted  to       'XTr         '^""'  ""'  *<'  ^'-'io" 
«nd  even  tl.en  uL'  "   Z     7"''?'°"^''  °''  ""^  "'"'°°! 

«i-d,  beerdit^  :;'^f ,^  twS "  •="■"" "''"  ■'- 

special  Electoi-s  It  ;,  \  .,  *  P'"^^*'  mmority  of  tl.e 
respect  wluc>  'due  t„H^  "'"^''^  '^P"""™'  """  "«' 
tl.e  utmost  c   e  ittrf  e  ',  r*"      /"■"  "  ""■""""''  "'"' 

does  not  nece^arily  oZ  ^  i^^-        '*fP'-''«™to'ives 

difficulty;  for  the  L      ,   *"  'f'"<"'""«  solution  of  the 

doubtfui^'and  ifth?c2th1  r^'  -embly  n,ay  still  be 

remedy.     Neverthe Iss  by    Jt^ZTT""  ^T""^'  "" 

didates  to  three,  and  by  ^^7^  .T         '"^^'^  "*'  '^^"- 

ment  of  an  enlightened  p'trfoi;  r,"" '"  ^J"'^- 

the  obstacles  •which  are  nof-  1      ^'         "^  smoothed  all 

tern  itself  ""'  '"'''"'»'  »  *«  elective  sys- 

have^welve  ti»es  o^ln  .'';:^'''  ^f  ^mted  S^.es 
t.ons  took  place  at  once  hyCtS^^lJ.  *'''  "'"'■ 

special  Electors  in  the  di4lt  Xt^  "^.IT  "'  *« 
Representatives   has  nnl^,  ♦    •  "^"^  ^""^e  of 

privilege  of  deeidL:  i^ter^unTeS  '17"^"^' 
was  at  the  election  of  Mr    t  «,""^^^'f  ^"^7  •  the  first  time 

was  in  1825,  ItnMr  for        7^  ^^'^  ^  '^'^  -eond 
'  '^'^-  '^'  Q"^««y  Adams  was  named.f 

cannot  agree,  recourse  is  Imd  to  the  division  of  th«  «!.  . 
a  separate  and  independent  vote      tZ      °^'''^^^*««'  ^^''h  of  which  haa 
Federal  Constitution,  which  can  be  exnkin  7?^^'  singularities  of  the 
interests.  ^  explained  only  by  the  jar  of  conflicting 

^^^*  «.on,  in  ISOI,  was  not  elected  until  the  thirty.Uth  ti.e  of ,.,. 

^^^^rra::^:.^^^  trc ''-'- '--  ^-^  -•--  ^^• 

act  in  the  election  only  twice  _7^  ^^^^^P^-^^^^^atives  ha«  been  required  lo 
8 


11 


f 


170 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


CRISIS   OF  THE   ELECTION. 


The  Election  may  be  considered  as  a  Moment  of  National  CriBis.  —  Why. 
—  Passions  of  the  People.  —  Anxiety  of  the  President.  —  Calm  which 
succeeds  the  Agitation  of  the  Election. 

I  HAVE  shown  what  the  circumstances  are  which  favored 
the  adoption  of  the  elective  system  in  the  United  States, 
and  what  precautions  Avere  taken  by  tlte  legislators  to  ob- 
viate its  dancers.  The  Americans  are  accustomed  to  all 
kinds  of  elections ;  and  they  knew  by  experience  the  ut^ 
most  degree  of  excitement  which  is  compatible  with  securi- 
ty. The  vast  extent  of  the  country  and  the  dissemination 
of  the  inhabitants  render  a  collision  between  parties  less 
probable  and  k^5S  dangerous  there  than  elsewhere.  The 
political  circumstances  under  which  the  elections  have  been 
carried  on  have  not,  as  yet,  caused  any  real  danger.  Still, 
the  epoch  of  the  election  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  may  be  considered  as  a  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  the 
nation. 

The  influence  which  the  President  exercises  on  public 
business  is  no  doubt  feeble  and  indirect ;  but  the  choice  of 
the  President,  though  of  small  importance  to  each  individ- 
ual citizen,  concerns  the  citizens  collectively ;  and  however 
trifling  an  interest  may  be,  it  assumes  a  great  degree  of 
importance  as  soon  as  it  becomes  general.  The  President 
possesses,  in  comparison  with  the  kings  of  Europe,  but  few 
means  of  creating  partisans ;  but  the  places  which  are  at 
his  disposal  are  sufficiently  numerous  to  interest,  directly 
or  indirectly,  several  thousand  electors  in  his  success.* 
Moreover,  political  parties  in  the  United  States  are  led  to 
rally  round  an  individual  in  order  to  acquire  a  more  tangi- 

*  Owing  to  the  increase  of  patronage  already  referred  to  as  necessarily 
produced  by  the  vast  increase  of  the  population,  this  influence  has  now  be- 
come excessive,  and  very  dangerous.  —  Am.  Ed. 


THE  FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  jji 

the  auspices  „7rp*:J:;ri;\°'  "'°'\P™-1''-  -der 
tion,  that  the  support  of  hn  "^  '"  f""'  ''^  ''''  o'^'^- 
majority.  "^  °^  '^"'^  principles  now  form  U,e 

engrossing,  ^p";^  't^  ^s^st'  t.  ^"  J,"  ^"f  ^  '"«  ""■ 
redoubled ;  and  all  tl^art^  .  •  *'^°''  "'^  '■'>''''°°  « 
nation  can  create  il  a  In  "^  '"^"""^  ^''"'<'''  "'«  '"agi- 
and  brought  tTllt'lLt  T'"  '"'"'  -"-^  '^''""<' 

sorbedb/theca«s''f;elSrferr''He„:r"'"'  '  ""^ 
for  the  interest  of  the  state  W  f    ..       .     "«"''  S"™"" 

he  does  homa<.e  to  Th.       ^    "      '  "'^'  "'^  •■"  r^kction ; 

ita  passions^^Ca  ^  e^riite  P" ="'  f  '''''"^ 
worst  caprices      A,  ,L    i    .•       '.      '^^I'^^""?  -courts  its 

of  hitrigre  a:d  thfaSiotrtletZir  •'  '"^  ^"'^"^ 
citizens  are  divided  fnto  hJ',         P^^ace  increase ;  the 

sumes  the  name  of  ite  fL  ?     "^'^'  '""^  "^  ''^"^^>  as- 

glows  with  r.  sh  lrm?„r  b  ""'T  •'"  "'"''^  •'^''"" 
theme  of  the  public  ZT   T '    ,  f  ^''''"'"  ^^  tlie  daily 

-ion,  the  enT^JJ'ZXtt'  "'  ''^^™'^  ^<'"™- 
interest  of  the  present."^  utlZ  tI7  "''°"'  "'"  ^"'^ 
choice  is  determined,  this  ardi  Ts  disSkd  Z"  T  "" 
turns ;  and  the  river,  which  had  nSy  broken  url"  T 
Sinks  to  its  usual  level  •  hut  r^h  ^  woKen  its  banks, 

.«ent  that  such  a  stl™  ^J^ZT^^^  ''"'"  '^'-'''^ 


li  .,A 

i    i 

■ 

1 

i 

172 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMliRlCA. 


RE-ELECTION    OP  THE   PRESIDENT. 


Ill) 


When  the  Head  of  the  Executive  Power  is  re-eligiblo,  it  is  tlio  State  which 
is  the  St)ur('o  of  Intrigue  and  Corruption.  —  The  Desire  of  hcing  re- 
elected is  the  oliicf  Aim  of  a  President  of  the  United  States.  —  Diaad- 
vantage  of  the  Re-election  peculiar  to  America.  —  The  Natural  Evil  of 
Democracy  is,  that  it  gradually  subordinates  all  Authority  to  the  slight- 
est  Desires  of  the  Majority.  —  The  Re-election  of  the  President  encour- 
ages this  Evil. 

Were  the  legislators  of  the  United  States  right  or  wrong 
in  allowing  the  re-election  of  the  President  ?  It  seems,  at 
first  sight,  contrary  to  all  reason,  to  prevent  the  head  of 
the  executive  power  from  being  elected  a  second  time. 
The  influence  which  the  talents  and  the  character  of  a 
single  individual  may  exercise  upon  the  fate  of  a  whole 
people,  especially  in  critical  circumstances  or  arduous 
times,  is  well  known.  A  law  preventing  the  re-election 
of  the  chief  magistrate  would  deprive  the  citizens  of  their 
best  means  of  insuring  the  prosperity  and  the  security  of 
the  commonwealth ;  and,  by  a  singular  inconsistency,  a 
man  would  be  excluded  from  the  government  at  the  very 
time  when  he  had  proved  his  ability  to  govern  well. 

But  if  these  arguments  are  strong,  perhaps  still  more 
powerful  reasons  may  be  advanced  against  them.  Intrigue 
and  corruption  are  the  natural  vices  of  elective  govern- 
ment ;  but  when  the  head  of  the  state  can  be  re-elected, 
these  evils  rise  to  a  great  jight,  and  compromise  the  very 
existence  of  the  countiy.  When  a  simple  candidate  seeks 
to  rise  by  intrigue,  his  manoeuvres  must  be  limited  to  a 
very  narrow  sphere ;  but  when  the  chief  magistrate  enters 
the  lists,  he  borrows  the  strength  of  the  government  for 
his  own  purposes.  In  the  former  case,  the  feeble  resources 
of  an  individual  are  in  action ;  in  the  latter,  the  state 
itself,  with  its  immense  influence,  is  busied  in  the  work  of 
corruption  and  cabal.     The  private  citizen,  who  employs 


.kJWtMM4IS^' 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  J 73 

culpable  practices  to  acquire  power  mn  „.*  • 
only  i,..lirectly  prejudicial'  to  tlfoTuTlirpXr  T,"; 
the  rc,„x.,,e„,ativo  of  the  executive  delndT,,  1';,,  "^ 
bat.  the  care,  of  government  dwindle  for  him  t  "T 
■■ate  m,poreance,  and  the  success  of  hiroltli  il  rT''" 
concern.    All  niiM.V.  nn„, . •  *•  section  is  his  first 

l.im  nothin J  Tore   thf^  !  'T'  "  """  "  ""  '''"^'  "^  '» 
Lccome  the  rewarcTof  rv'T"';^  '^''™"''    l''""-'-^' 

but  to  its  chie;  Id'  r  xrc  7;';r '°  "'"""■•°"' 

not  injurious  to  the  country  is  at  loa^f  ""«  government,  if 
to  the  community  for  whiXirrJ:::,"eS     """  ''"'""'' 

;^-=s[:t::-;ht^;:::-^^^^^^^^ 

bemg  re-elected  is  the  chief  am  of  TeVr.    1    !    T""  °^ 
whole  p„hc,  of  his  admini.™!:  iTd"^^^:"!-' ^ t'    : 

p-aceof  hisi„tcJLti:t;p:ufc7r;'  rr' •"*''? "'" 

re^ligibiht,  rende.  the  c^rru  .ti^n^  nflu»  e^^t/' 
governments  still  more  extensivi  and  pernicious  T  ?  7 
to  degrade  the  political  moralitv  of  ,L  ^  T  .  '""^ 
.Huten,ana4„ta„di„.£t'  artt™"*  '"  ^"''■ 

afflicted  by  some  evil  wh.thL^„CntTit.rT   '°    '^ 

or  ^a  ,i  a^drm^,:;™™  trtr  ^:  ^-^^ 

bad  co„se,ue„ees  ma^  not  ^ZZ^;^^^  '^ 


(  ■       !; 


174 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA 


bj 


111 


radically  bad,  even  if  its  immediate  consequences  were 
unattended  with  evil.  By  parity  of  reasoning,  in  coim- 
tries  governed  by  a  democracy,  where  the  people  is  per- 
petually drawing  all  authority  to  itself,  the  laws  which 
increase  or  accelerate  this  action  directly  attack  the  very 
principle  of  the  government. 

The  greatest  merit  of  the  American  legislators  is,  that 
they  clearly  discerned  this  truth,  and  had  the  courage  to 
act  up  to  it.  They  conceived  that  a  certain  authority 
above  the  body  of  the  people  was  necessary,  which  should 
enjoy  a  degree  of  independence  in  its  sphere,  without  being 
entirely  beyond  the  popular  control ;  an  authority  which 
would  be  forced  to  comply  with  the  permanent  determina- 
tions of  the  majority,  but  which  would  be  able  to  resist  its 
caprices,  and  refuse  its  most  dangerous  demands.  To  this 
end,  they  centred  the  whole  executive  power  of  the  nation 
in  a  single  arm  ;  they  granted  extensive  prerogatives  to  the 
President,  and  armed  him  with  the  veto  to  resist  the  en- 
croachments of  the  legislature. 

But  by  introducing  the  principle  of  re-election,  they 
partly  destroyed  their  work  ;  they  conferred  on  the  Presi- 
dent a  great  power,  but  made  him  little  inclined  to  use  it. 
If  ineligible  a  second  time,  the  President  would  not  be  in- 
dependent of  the  people,  for  his  responsibility  would  not 
cease  ;  but  the  favor  of  the  people  would  not  be  so  neces- 
sary to  him  as  to  induce  him  to  submit  in  every  respect  to 
its  desires.  If  re-eligible,  (and  this  is  especially  true  at 
the  present  day,  when  political  morality  is  relaxed,  and 
when  great  men  are  rare,)  the  President  of  the  United 
States  becomes  an  easy  tool  in  the  hands  of  the  majority. 
He  adopts  its  likings  and  its  animosities,  he  anticipates  its 
wishes,  he  forestalls  its  complaints,  he  yields  to  its  idlest 
cravings,  and  instead  of  guiding  it,  as  the  legislature  in- 
tended that  he  should  do,  he  merely  follows  its  bidding. 
Thus,  in  order  not  to  deprive  the  state  of  the  talents  of  an 


'-**!jiiJi^u'^jViaii,^X'^J^ 


THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION.  175 

FEDEBAl  COBETa  OF  JUSTICE.* 

PoIWcal  Importance  of  the  Judictonr  in  the  ITn,>„H  c.  . 

'K'ting  this  Subject  _  Utility  rf  iJ--  ,T         ''"•  -  "i*"'*  of 
Wh«  Tribnnal,  could  be  intl      ,  '^°™'  '"  C^Merations.  - 

«b«u,  rcde.>,°C;rX"'''°or°''°°-''°^''' ■''«•■ 

considered; It  her^V"'^"':'  P-"^-;  -w  remains  to  be 
reader.     Thdr  iudilf  •    r?   •  """"'^  "^ ''"^'^  fr"™  tl,e 

occupy  a  verv  im„„rt  °,     ,    ^"g'°-Aniencans,  and  they 

nals  without  entfrin'ilt      "'"'•"/  *«  ^■"^*-  «bu- 

their  constiLtt  id  LrC^r'  ''"^'!'  '^^I'^^""»" 
cannot  descend   to  thesemilZ  "^  Proceeding;  and  I 

reader  by  the  natural  d^eTsTtt/'"'  """^"^  *« 
obscurity  through  a  de'^rbt  t^rY  '"""^  '"'" 
hope  to  escape  these  diiTerent  eril,      n  !,•        """  '™'''='='y 


176 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


means  of  overcoming  the  opposition  of  the  governed; 
namely,  the  physical  force  which  is  at  their  own  disposal, 
and  the  moral  force  which  they  derive  from  the  decisions 
of  the  courts  of  justice. 

A  government  which  should  have  no  other  means  of 
exacting  obedience  than  open  war,  must  be  very  near  its 
ruin,  for  one  of  two  things  would  then  probably  happen  to 
it.  If  it  was  weak  and  temperate,  it  would  resort  to  vio- 
lence only  at  the  last  extremity,  and  would  connive  at 
many  partial  acts  of  insubordination  ;  then  the  state  would 
gi-adually  fall  into  anarchy.  If  it  was  enterprising  and 
powerful,  it  would  every  day  have  recourse  to  physical 
strength,  and  thus  would  soon  fall  into  a  military  despot- 
ism. Thus  its  activity  and  its  inertness  would  be  equally 
prejudicial  to  the  community. 

The  great  end  of  justice  is,  to  substitute  the  notion  of 
right  for  that  of  violence,  and  to  place  a  legal  ban-ier  be- 
tween the  government  and  the  use  of  physical  force.  It  is 
a  strange  thing,  the  authority  which  is  accorded  to  the  in- 
tervention of  a  court  of  justice  by  the  general  opinion  of 
mankind  I  It  clings  even  to  the  mtre  formalities  of  justice, 
and  gives  a  bodily  influence  to  the  mere  shadow  of  the 
law.  The  moral  force  which  courts  of  justice  possess  ren- 
ders the  use  of  physical  force  very  rare,  and  is  frequently 
substituted  for  it ;  but  if  force  proves  to  be  indispensable, 
its  power  is  doubled  by  the  association  of  the  idea  of  law. 

A  federal  government  stands  in  greater  need  than  any 
other  of  the  support  of  judicial  institutions,  because  it  is 
naturally  weak,  and  exposed  to  formidable  opposition.*     If 


*  Fwlcral  laws  are  those  which  most  require  courts  of  justice,  and  those, 
at  the  same  time,  which  have  most  rarely  established  them.  The  reason  is, 
that  confederations  have  usually  been  formed  by  independent  states,  whicli 
had  no  real  intention  of  obeying  the  central  government ;  and  though  they 
readily  ceded  the  right  of  command  to  the  central  government,  they  car* 
fully  reserved  the  right  of  non-compliance  to  themselves. 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  I77 

obey  the  laws,  and  to  repel  the  attacks  which  mi^ht  h. 

ZZ  '''lJ™'«=^'''»<=•'  «'««'  already  organimi  in  everv 
State?    Or  was  .t  necessaiy  to  creatlFeden.!. courts?  T 

wants  the  judicial  power  of  the  States.  The  separation  nf 
hejudicia^fro,  ,.,  other  powers  of  the  steLTll^ 
aiy  for  the  security  of  each,  and  the  hberty  of  al .     Bu^ 

ha^r       '  r°"™'  '"  *«  «-'»«"-  o^  the  natfo" 
that  the  several  powers  of  the  state  should  have  the  same 
origin,  follow  the  same  principles,  and  act  in  the  ^e 

mogeneous.    No  one,  I  presume,  ever  thought  of  causinir 
offences  committed  in  France  to  be  tried  by  a  fore ^3 
of  justice,  in  order  to  insure  the  impartiality  of  Kl 
The  Americans  form  but  one  people  in  relation  tfthS 
Federal  government ;  but  in  the  bosom  of  this  neol  d 
vers  politK^al  bodies  have  been  allowed  to  sublstt'which 
are  dependent  on  the  national  govemment  in  a  few  pott 
and  independent  in  all  the  rest,  -  which  have  all  a  dS 
origm,  maxims  peculiar  to  themselves,  and  special  meTn 
of  canymg  on  their  affairs.    To  intrust  the  LcutiW 
rt    T.f-  *'  ^"'™  '"   '"''""'J^   instituted  by  tl: 

eT™   n!,      T™'     ^^y' "">"'■'  "«t  only  is  each  State  for- 
e.gn  to  the  Union  at  large,  but  it  is  a  perpetual  adversary 
smce  whatever  authority  the  Union  loses  turns  to  the  3' 
vantage  of  the  States.     Thus,  to  enforce  the    aws  of  th 
Union  by  means  of  the  State  tribunals  would  be  to  Illow 
not_  ™ly  foreign,  but  partial,  judges  to  preside  over  the 

12 


1'^  i; 


I  il 


178 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


But  the  number,  still  more  than  the  mere  character,  of 
the  State  tribunals,  made  them,  unfit  for  the  service  of  the 
nation.  When  the  Federal  Constitution  was  formed,  there 
were  already  thirteen  courts  of  justice  in  the  United  States, 
which  decided  causes  without  appeal.  That  number  is 
now  increased  to  twenty-four  [thirty-four].  To  suppose 
that  a  state  can  subsist,  when  its  fundamental  laws  are 
subjected  to  four-and-twenty  different  interpretations  at 
the  same  time,  is  to  advance  a  proposition  alike  contrary 
to  reason  and  to  experience. 

The  American  legislators  therefore  agreed  to  create  a 
Federal  judicial  power  to  apply  the  laws  of  the  Union,  and 
to  determine  certain  questions  affecting  general  interests, 
which  were  carefully  defiMsd  beforehand.  The  entire  judi- 
cial power  of  the  Union  was  centred  in  one  tribunal,  called 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  But,  to  faciU- 
tate  the  expedition  of  business,  inferior  courts  were  ap- 
pended to  it,  which  were  empowered  to  decide  causes  of 
small  importance  without  appeal,  and,  with  appeal,  causes 
of  more  magnitude.  The  members  of  the  Supreme  Court 
are  appointed  neither  by  the  people  nor  the  legislature,  but 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  acting  with  the 
advice  of  the  Senate.  In  order  to  render  them  indepen- 
dent of  the  other  authorities,  their  office  was  made  inalien- 
able ;  and  it  was  determined  that  their  salary,  when  once 
fixed,  should  not  be  diminished  by  the  legislature.*  It 
was  easy  to  proclaim  the  principle  of  a  Federal  judiciary, 
but  difficulties  multiplied  when  the  extent  of  its  jurisdiction 
was  to  be  determined. 

*  The  Union  was  divided  into  districts,  in  each  of  which  a  resident  Fed- 
eral judge  was  appointed,  and  the  court  in  which  he  presided  was  termed  a 
"District  Court."  Each  of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  annually  visits 
a  certain  portion  of  the  country,  in  order  to  try  the  most  important  causes 
upon  the  spot :  the  court  presided  over  by  this  magistrate  is  styled  a  "  Cir- 
cuit Court."  Lastly,  all  the  most  serious  cases  of  litigation  are  brought, 
either  primarily  or  by  appeal,  before  the  Supreme  Court,  which  holds  a 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION. 


179 


m 


MEANS     OF    DETERMINING     THE    JURISDICTION    OF    THE 

FEDERAL   COURTS. 

Difficulty  of  determining  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  diffe«nt  Courte  cf  Justin 

fcung  their  ow- Ju-isdtoio?     t      I  "  """^  ""  "«'«»' 

Pnr,L  If  r   ''"  ™'™™-  -I"  »'li«t  respects  tilis  R„lo  attack,  the 
Portion  of  Sovereigaty  reserved  ,0  the  several  St«es  -ThT^v 

l^^Z         °^'  ""  '"""""  "'  '""  -«'  S-'»  -re  appar. 

A8  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  recognized  two 
dtstmc  sovereignties,  in  presence  of  each  otSrrrepI 
cTu  :^  '^'J"^™  P-'  ot  view  by  two  distinct  cL27( 
counts  of  justice,  the  utmost  care  taken  in  definin.r  their 
ser«™^jurisdic,io„s  would  have  been  insuffictt  fo  p^ 
vent  frequent  coUisions  between  those  tribunals  The 
question  then  arose,  to  whom  the  right  of  decSng  thi 
competency  of  each  court  was  to  be  referred.  ^ 

nues'tirr-"'^'.'''  •°™  ■ '"''  "  ^'"^'"^  ^y  Poli'i"'  ^he"  a 
quesfon  of  jurisdiction  is  debated  between  two  courts  a 

third  tribunal  IS  genemlly  within  reach  to  decide  tiriif! 

ference;  and  this  is  effected  without  difficulty,  becanse 

m  these  nations,  questions  of  judicial  competent;  have  no 

connection  with  questions  of  national  soveLgnty.     But  it 

court  of  the  Union  and  the  superior  court  of  a  separate 
State,  which  would  not  belong  to  one  of  these  two  " 
It  was  therefore  necessary  to  allow  one  of  these  cour  t o 

lTd°  Tir  °'""' '  '""■ "'  ""^  "'  *'  '"^^  <"■  "■«  «■«■!•  Courts  most 
attend.      The  jury  was  Introduced  into  the  Federal   court,    in  .1,7 


li 


180 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


'1,1  u 


judge  its  own  cause,  and  to  take  or  to  retain  cognizance  of 
the  point  which  was  contested.  To  grant  this  privilege  to 
the  different  courts  of  the  States  would  have  heen  to  de- 
stroy the  sovereignty  of  the  Union  de  facto,  after  having 
estabhshed  it  de  jure;  for  the  interpretation  of  the  Consti- 
tution would  soon  have  restored  to  the  States  that  portion 
of  independence  of  which  the  terms  of  the  Constitution 
deprived  them.  The  object  of  creating  a  Federal  tribunal 
was  to  prevent  the  State  courts  from  deciding,  each  after 
its  own  fashion,  questions  affecting  the  national  interests, 
and  so  to  form  a  uniform  body  of  jurisprudence  for  the 
interpretation  of  the  laws  of  the  Union.  This  end  would 
not  have  been  attained  if  the  courts  of  the  several  States, 
even  while  they  abstained  from  deciding  cases  avowedly 
Federal  in  their  nature,  had  been  able  to  decide  them  by 
pretending  that  they  were  not  Federal.  The  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  was  therefore  invested  with 
the  right  of  determining  all  questions  of  jurisdiction.* 

This  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  States, 
which  was  thus  restricted  not  only  by  the  laws,  but  by  the 
interpretation  of  them,  —  by  one  limit  which  was  known, 
and  by  another  which  was  dubious,  —  by  a  rule  which  was 
certain,  and  one  which  was  arbitrary.  It  is  true,  the  Con- 
stitution had  laid  down  the  precise  limits  of  the  Federal 
supremacy ;  but  whenever  this  supremacy  is  contested  by 
one  of  the  States,  a  Federal  tribunal  decides  the  question. 
Nevertheless,  the  dangers  with  which  the  independence  of 
the  States  is  threatened  by  this  mode  of  proceeding  are  lees 
serious  than  they  appear  to  be.     We  shall  see  hereafter, 

*  In  order  to  diminish  the  number  of  these  suits,  however,  it  was  decided 
that,  in  a  great  many  Federal  causes,  the  courts  of  the  States  should  be  em- 
powered to  decide  conjointly  with  those  of  the  Union,  the  losing  party  hav- 
ing  then  a  right  of  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The 
Supreme  Court  of  Virginia  contested  the  right  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  to  judge  an  appeal  from  its  decisions,  but  unsuccessfully.  See 
Kent's  Commentaries,  Vol.  I.  pp.  300,  370,  et  seq. 


THE   FEDEBAL   CONSTITUTION.  IgJ 

that,  in  America,  the  real  power  is  vested  in  the  States  far 
more  than  m  d,„  Federal  government.  The  CenJ 
judges  are  conscious  of  the  relative  weakness  ofthe 
power  m  whose  name  they  act;  and  they  ar«  moL  in! 
dmed  to  abandon  tl.e  right  of  jnrisdictio„,';„  casTwh  re 
the  law  gives  .t  to  them,  than  to  assert  a  privileged 
which  they  have  no  legal  claun.  pn™ege  to 

DIFFERENT  CASES   OF  JURI3DICTI0M. 

r.l.t,„g  ■„  .he  N„..perf„™«,c„  of  Co„.rac,.  tried  bj . taC^cZ 
After  establishing  the  competency  of  the  Federal  courts 

come  withm  their  jurisdiction.    It  was  determined,  on  the 

one  hand,  that  certain  parties  must  always  be  CouZ 

before  the  Federal  courts    witl,™,.  ,         ,    ■'™"g'"^ 

nature  of  tl,»  . T      T       ,  "^^"'^  '"  "«'  ^P^™1 

nahire  of  the  suit ;  and,  on  the  other,  that  certain  causes 

must  always  be  brought  before  the  same  courts,  no  ml 

ter  who  were  the  parties  to  them.      The  part^  andThl 

Ambassadors  represent  nations  in  amity  with  the  Union 

de^  the  whole  Union.     When  an  ambassador,  therefore 

;  PO^'y  ">  a  Buit,  its  issue  affects  the  welfare  of  the 

nat.o„,_and  a  Federal  tribunal  is  natu..lly  called  upl  to 

The  Union  itself  may  be  involved  in  legal  proceedin.^ 

customs  of  all  nations  to  appeal  to  a  tribunal  representing 


¥• 


dj 


mi 


m 


'   h 


i 


I-  : 

r; 


182 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


any  other  sovereignty  than  its  own :  the  Federal  courta 
alone,  therefore,  take  cognizance  of  these  affairs. 

When  two  parties  belonging  to  two  different  States  are 
engaged  in  a  suit,  the  case  cannot  with  propriety  be 
brought  before  a  court  of  either  State.  The  surest  expe- 
dient is  to  select  a  tribunal  which  can  excite  the  suspicions 
of  neither  party,  and  this  is  naturally  a  Federal  court. 

When  the  two  parties  are  not  private  individuals,  but 
States,  an  important  political  motive  is  added  to  the  same 
consideration  of  equity.  The  quality  of  the  parties,  in 
this  case,  gives  a  national  importance  to  all  their  disputes ; 
and  the  most  trifling  litigation  between  two  States  may  be 
said  to  involve  the  peace  of  the  whole  Union.* 

The  nature  of  the  cause  frequently  prescribes  the  rule 
of  competency.  Thus,  all  questions  which  concern  mari- 
time affairs  evidently  fall  under  the  cognizance  of  the  Fed- 
eral tribunals.!  Almost  all  these  questions  depend  on  the 
interpretation  of  the  law  of  nations  ;  and,  in  this  respect, 
they  essentially  interest  the  Union  in  relation  to  foreign 
powers.  Moreover,  as  the  sea  is  not  included  within  the 
limits  of  any  one  State  jurisdiction  rather  than  another, 
only  the  national  courts  can  hear  causes  which  originate  in 
maritime  affairs. 

The  Constitution  comprises  under  one  head  almost  all 
the  cases  which,  by  their  very  nature,  come  before  the 

*  The  Constitution  also  says  that  the  Federal  courts  shall  decide  "  con- 
troversies between  a  State  and  the  citizens  of  another  State."  And  here  a 
most  important  question  arose,  —  whether  the  jurisdiction  given  by  the  Con- 
stitution, in  cases  in  which  a  State  is  a  party,  extended  to  suits  brought 
against  a  State  as  well  as  by  it,  or  was  exclusively  confined  to  the  latter. 
The  question  was  most  elaborately  considered  in  the  case  of  Chishdm  v. 
Georgia,  and  was  decided  by  the  majority  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  af 
firmative.  The  decision  created  general  alarm  among  the  States,  and  an 
wnendment  was  proposed  and  ratified,  by  which  the  power  was  entirely 
taken  away  so  far  as  it  regards  suits  brought  against  a  State. 

t  Ab,  for  instance,  all  cases  of  piracy. 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  Igj, 

in.  this  ,rom,o„::t:::;:zzL  ofsr:^^- 

Federal  onnr,  ^  """"'^"'"'  *«  <^»^o  must  come  before  a 
n  ,  J  c  '  "'""'^  '*  "«««  radei-  the  laws  of  ..h« 
Umted  States  Again,  if  difficulties  arise  in  T  levyt 
of  mport  dafes  which  have  been  voted  by  ConL  7^f 
Fedezul  court  must  decide  the  case,  because  it  ^CZZl 
the  interpretafon  of  a  law  of  the  United  States. 

.r  u  ^;  '™  "■'""''''<*  """'  within  its  limits    it 

It  t  run-::  "•"'  *"  ""^  p^°p'^-'  ^"''■"  *- 

rlri   ^      V  7.^  sovereign.     When  this  point  is  es- 
abhshed  and  admitted,  the  inference  is  easy ;  for  if  u  be 
acknowledged  that  the  United  States    within  ,Z  I      j 
1-eribed  by  their  Constitution,  cortult^         X"/ 
It  »  .mpossible  to  refuse  them  the  rights  which  belonf  ,o 
ot/.er  natjons.     But  it  haa  been  allowed,  from  the  oS  of 
society,  that  evety  nation  has  the  right  of  decWinT^v  ! 
own  courts  those  questions  which  c^'onceltf  ele'C 

»  4,  rule.  "'        '  "*  °"  ""^'X''"'  •»"  *=  eontt^  pri„eipl. 


184 


DLMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


11 

if" 


of  its  own  laws.  To  this  it  is  answered,  that  the  Union  ia 
in  so  singular  a  position,  that,  in  relation  to  some  matters, 
it  constitutes  but  one  people,  and  in  relation  to  all  the  rest, 
it  is  a  nonentity.  But  the  inference  to  be  drawn  is,  that, 
in  the  laws  relating  to  these  matters,  the  Union  possesses 
all  the  rights  of  absolute  sovereignty.  The  difficulty  is  to 
know  what  these  matters  are;  and  when  once  it  is  re- 
solved, (and  we  have  shown  how  it  was  resolved,  in  speak- 
in  cr  of  the  means  of  determining  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Federal  courts,)  no  further  doubt  ran  arise ;  for  as  soon  as 
it  is  estabhshed  that  a  suit  is  Federal,  that  is  to  say,  that  it 
belongs  to  the  share  of  sovereignty  reserved  by  the  Consti- 
tution to  the  Union,  the  natural  consequence  is,  that  it 
should  come  within  the  jurisdiction  of  a  Federal  court. 

Whenever  the  laws  of  the  United  States  are  attacked, 
or  whenever  they  are  resorted  to  in  self-defence,  the  Fed- 
eral courts  must  be  appealed  to.     Thus  the  jurisdiction  cf 
the  tribunals  of  the  Union  extends  and  narrows  its  limits 
exactly  in  the  same  ratio  as  the  sovereignty  of  the  Union 
aucrments  or  decreases.     We  have  shown  that  the  principal 
aim  of  the  legislators  of  1789  was  to  divide  the  sovereign 
authority  into  two  parts.     In  the  one,  they  placed  the  con- 
trol of  all  the  general  interests  of  the  Union,  in  the  other, 
tiie  control  of  the  special  interests  of  its  component  States. 
Their  chief  solicitude  was,  to  arm  the  Federal  government 
with  sufficient  power  to  enable  it  to  resist,  within  its  sphere, 
the  encroachments  of  the  several   States.     As  for  these 
communities,  the  general  principle  of  independence  within 
certain  limits  of  their  own  was  adopted  in  their  behalf; 
there  the   central   government  cannot  control,  nor  even 
inspect,  their  conduct.     In  speaking  of  the  division  of  au- 
thority, I  observed  that  this  latter  principle  had  not  always 
been  respected,  since  the  States  are  prevented  from  passing 
certain  laws,  which  apparently  belong  to  their  own  partic- 
ular sj^here  of  interest.    When  a  State  of  the  Union  passes 


a  law 

ecutio 

Tin 

only  t 

Union 

the  sei 

States 

criminj 

law  of 

Union. 

laws  w! 

citizen 

a  law  J 

may  apj 

*  It  is 

large  editii 

ner  changi 

the  contrm 

fill  definiti( 

The  definii 

vidual,  anc 

fiiture  law. 

equally  bin( 

tion  here  n 

quired  righ 

not  have  pa 

possession  is 

t  A  rerai 

large  editioi 

founded   by 

Revolution,  i 

legislature  of 

passed  an  acl 

transferring  i 

charter  to  m 

the  act  was 

eral)  Court,  \ 

within  the  m 

utterly  void,  s 


■-imtitiis^#»iiiMtmiii^»aiiiiik,JiMS^Sil^lt!lli'-.i 


:'i|^t.fl||pi^JI,.,L.lV 


THE   FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION. 


185 

-  r^'  sir  ;:r  --  ---"^:i  t 

State,  are  prot  ,  dZm'T  ^  '"■  ''''"''"'"'"'■•  The 
eriminaleases;  and  anvn".  "^.  ^po>t-/acto  laws  i„ 
low  of  this  ki  .dnl    ^  "^  T      condemned  by  virtue  of  a 

Union.  The  st  es  arrJ  '"  "'  ^r'"^'"'  "'•--  "^  "- 
laws  which  may^inair  J    T"  ^""^^'""^  ^"""  ""^i-S 

eitj^n  thinks  tK^lht&tllr"'^'''*  /^  » 
a  law  passed  in  his  StatP  I,!         ""'/""^  «  impaired  by 

may  appeal  to  thetdera,  'co^J  "'"^  '"  ""-^  ■•''  ""'^ 

*  It  is  perfectly  clear,  says  Mr  Rto«,  /n 
large  edition  §  1379,)  tlmt  any  law  wS i?™'"''^*'^""''  P*  '«^'  «••  ">  the 
ner  changes  the  intention  of  t      oa^l'  '"''^r'  '''"'^^'  ^^  -  any  n,an- 
the  contract,  necessarily  i^irst^Sf'.'^^-^-f  '''""  ''''  "'Pulations  in 
ful  definition  of  what  is  unde  sL  d  bv  af '!  '"    "  ''^""  ^'^^^  '^  ^^^  '  '- 
The  definition  is  very  broad      11^     TT'  '°  ^''^''''  Jurisprudence, 
vidual.  and  accepted  by  hhn  i^a  "n  "f   J  '''  '^'^^*'  ^'^  "*  P"^«*«  '"^i" 
futu^law.     A  charter  gran^i^Vhestrr"^  '^  "^^'^'  '^^ -^ 
oqual^  binding  on  the  State  as  on  the  g^^ntee     Tl77  "  I  ""*""*'  -^ 
t»on  here  referred  to  insures    therefon,.^  ^''"  ^^'»"««  "f  the  Constitu- 

quired  rights,  but  not  of  aJ,  ZZ'  T'"'"  "^  *  «^^«*  P"'^  "^  ac- 
not  have  passed  into  the  po  sess^T,  L"?  ''''"'''  "^  ''''''  ''^^^^  ''  -y 
possession  is  an  acquired  rTht  To.  ^  ""''"'  "^  *  ''""^'•'"^t'  and  its 

^  t  A;-ubieU:fo^;;i:xr;^^^^^^^  ^-•-- 

large  edition  §  1388).  "Dartmouth  CnC  ■  S"  "^  ^P'  ^°®'  °^  '°  th* 
founded  by  a  charter  grantcTto  1^^"  ^V'".  '"  "'""^''''^^  ^"^^  ^n 
Revolution,  and  its  trustees  for^edlT  '''"'''  ''"'^^^  '''«  ^^^eaa 
legislature  of  New  HampsLrd  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ""^^^  *'-  ^''-er.  The 
passed  an  act  changing  the  terms  of7hn  '^^'''"^°"t  of  this  corpomtion. 
transferring  all  the'  rights,  ^e^  LTr  , -'"^^^  °'  '''  ^^^^^-^^  ^^^ 
cW  to  new  trustees  appo'inted^^drth!:^^^^^^^^^^^  ''^  '"^' 

Ae  act  WM  conKsted,  nnd  tin  m™.  .  *  'oratitutionality  of 

era.)  Court,  „„„,.  ,  ;J't^^   ZthTp"™''  ""  '"  "">  «"P"™  (^«1- 
"ithin  the  mcMiiog  „f  „,e  c '  '^l-      ^T"™'  '^''"^  ™  .  coutmct 

«-,  .Old, .,  ^Mo^ri^rorc:::;."""'"-^  -  ™ 


;■,   ; 


\l\ 


"'■'iKi 


MH 


186 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMKRICA. 


This  provision  appears  to  me  to  be  the  most  serious 
attack  upon  the  independence  of  the  States.  Tiie  rights 
accorded  to  the  Federal  government  for  purposes  obviously 
national  are  definite  and  easily  understood :  but  those  with 
which  this  clause  invests  it  are  neither  clearly  appreciable 
nor  accurately  defined.  For  there  are  many  political  laws 
which  affect  the  existence  of  contracts,  which  might  thus 
ftimish  a  pretext  for  the  encroachments  of  the  central  au 
thority.* 

♦  The  apprehensions  expressed  in  this  paragraph  seem  to  be  unfounded. 
The  object  of  the  clause  in  the  Constitution  respecting  contracts  is  not  so 
much  to  strengthen  the  Federal  government  as  to  protect  private  individuals 
against  harmful  and  unjust  State  legislation.  It  docs  not  limit  the  power 
of  the  States,  except  by  prohibiting  them  from  committing  positive  wrong. 
They  can  still  legislate  upon  the  subject  o{  future  contracts;  they  can  pre- 
scribe what  contracts  shall  be  formed,  and  how ;  but  they  cannot  impair  any 
that  are  already  made.  Any  law  wliich  should  authorize  the  breach  of  a  con- 
tract already  made,  or  in  any  way  impair  its  obligation,  would  be  obviously 
unjust. 

Moreover,  as  Mr.  Spencer  observes,  the  author  is  in  error  "  in  supposing 
the  judiciary  of  the  United  States,  and  particularly  the  Supreme  Court,  to 
be  a  part  of  the  political  Federal  government,  and  a  ready  instrument  to  ex- 
ecute its  designs  upon  the  State  authorities.  Although  the  judges  are  in 
form  commissioned  by  the  United  States,  yet  they  are  in  fact  appointed  by 
the  delegates  of  the  States,  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  concurrently 
with  and  acting  upon  the  nomination  of  the  President.  In  truth,  the  ju- 
diciary have  no  political  duties  to  perform ;  they  are  arbiters  chosen  by  the 
Federal  and  State  governments  jointly,  and,  when  appointed,  as  independent 
of  one  as  of  the  other.  They  cannot  be  removed  without  the  consent  of 
the  States  represented  in  the  Senate ;  and  they  can  be  removed  without  the 
consent  of  the  President,  and  against  his  wishes.  Such  is  the  theory  of  the 
Constitution.  And  it  has  been  felt  practically,  in  the  rejection  by  the  Senate 
of  persons  nominated  as  judges  by  a  President  of  the  same  political  party 
with  a  majority  of  the  Senators.  Two  instances  of  this  kind  occurred  dor 
ing  the  ridministration  of  Mr.  Jefferson."  — Am.  Ed. 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION. 
PROCEDURE   OP  THE    FEDERAL   COURTS. 


187 


NatunJ  Weakness  of  the  Judicial  Power  in  Confederations       T  ^  ,  » 
ought,  as  much  a.  possible,  to  bring  Private  Indt^   .       T  ^  "°'' 
bcfo.^  the  Fcdeml  Courts.  1  How  the  aI?-  '  '"''  ""'  ^^^^' 

I  HAVE  shown  what  the  right,  of  the  Federal  courts  are 
and..  «  no  leas  .mportant  to  show  how  they  are  ex  ,C 
The  .rres,st,ble  auUiority  of  justice  in  countries  in  wS" 
the  ovemgnty  ,s  undivided,  is  derived  from  the  fL    ]  a 

rtw^'e't  e'i  e   "orriLrT':  >"■  '"'"^'"'^  '"  ''^ 
ii«  mea  or  right.     But  it  is  not  alwavs  so  in 

countnes  ,n  which  the  sovereignty  is  divided,  in  Zr^Z 
ud,c.al  power  ,s  more  frequently  opposed  to  a  fr«  "^  „f 
the  nation,  than  to  an  isolated  individual,  and  tomora 
i,h  7"^  -d  physical  strengtl.  a^  cons  quently  Z  l 
.shed     In  Federal  states,  the  power  of  the  judge  i.„Ttu 

n,  ;i     ?         .  "^  ""  ''^S^'"""-  ■■"  confederate  statfs 
ought  therefore  to  be,  to  render  the  position  of  the  courL 
of  justice  analogous  to  that  which  they  occupy  in  c„"n 
mes  where  the  sovereignty  is  undivided ,  in  oTher  CX 

rii^aittS-"^  -'^  -  .hevr:ti:i:^ 

Every  government,  whatever  mav  be   it,  n^«cf .  *• 
reonirPQ  tl,a.  »«^         i«  ^         "^   constitution, 

assaults.    As  ftr  as  the  direct  action  of  the  government  on 


i*4  ui 


ill 


188 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


1 «, 

.'4  J. 


the  community  is  concerned,  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  contrived,  by  a  master-stroke  of  policy,  tliat  the 
Federal  courts,  acting  in  the  name  of  the  laws,  should  take 
cognizance  only  of  parties  in  an  individual  capacity.  For, 
as  it  had  been  declared  that  the  Union  consisted  of  one  and 
the  same  people  within  the  limits  laid  down  by  the  Con- 
stitution, the  inference  was  that  the  government  created 
by  this  constitution,  and  acting  within  these  hmits,  was 
invested  with  all  the  privileges  of  a  national  government, 
one  of  the  principal  of  which  is  the  right  of  transmitting 
its  injunctions  directly  to  the  private  citizen.  When,  for 
instance,  the  Union  votes  an  impost,  it  does  not  apply  to 
the  States  for  the  levying  of  it,  but  n  every  American  cit- 
izen, in  proportion  to  his  assessment.  The  Supreme  Court, 
which  is  empowered  to  enforce  the  execution  of  this  law 
of  the  Union,  exerts  its  influence  not  upon  a  refractory 
State,  but  upon  the  private  tax-payer ;  and,  like  the  judi- 
cial power  of  other  nations,  it  acts  only  upon  the  person  of 
an  individual.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  Union  chose 
its  own  antagonist ;  and  as  that  antagonist  is  feeble,  he  is 
naturally  worsted. 

But  the  difficulty  increases  when  the  proceedings  are  not 
brought  forward  %,  but  against,  the  Union.  The  Consti- 
tution recognizes  the  legislative  power  of  the  States ;  and 
a  law  enacted  by  that  power  may  violate  the  rights  of  the 
Union.  In  this  case,  a  collision  is  unavoidable  bi^tween 
that  body  and  the  State  which  has  passed  the  la^^  :  and  it 
only  remains  to  select  the  least  dangerous  remedy.  The 
general  principles  which  I  have  before  established  show 
what  this  remedy  is.* 

It  may  be  conceived  that,  in  the  case  under  consid(5ra- 
tion,  the  Union  might  have  sued  the  State  before  a  Federal 
court,  which  would  have  annulled  the  act ;  this  would  have 
been  the  most  natural  proceeding.     But  the  judicial  power 

•  See  Chapter  VI.,  on  Judicial  Power  in  America. 


THE  FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  Igg 

wo^d  thus  have  been  placed  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
State,  and  it  was  desirable  to  avoid  this  nrp^I.         . 
much  as  no^IW*.      T-i,     a        •  predicament  as 

mucn  as  possible.     The  Americans  hold  that  if  ;=  ««    i 

interest  by  its  provisions.     These  private  interests  are  «, 
-med  by  the  American  legislato..!  the  meanrof^3r 
ng  such  measures  as  may  be  prejudicial  to  the  Um-on  ^d 

cr  ist;  "sr '  "■" '''  ™'"" "'  *«  «-p-' 

Suppose  a  State  sells  a  portion  of  its  public  lands  to  a 

which  the  lands  are  otherwise  disposed  of  ,n^  ,i   .    i    ^ 
of  the  Constitution  which  ..•ohS^ai1mS„:'r 
obligation  of  conttacts  is  tliereby  violated.     Wh™  "hf  «„ 
chaser  under  the  second  act  appeal,  to  take  possession  ^I 

r:ioft:r- '"'  t  '--^  "'^  »*-  ^^'^ 

tribunals  of  the  Umon,  and  causes  the  title  of  the  claimant 
to  be  pronounced  null  and  void.*    Thus,  in  pofait  ofTt 
he  judicial  power  of  the  Union  is  contesting  the  ells  of 
the  sovereignty  of  a  State ;  but  it  acts  onl/indirectirand 
upon  an  application  of  detail.     It  at,acks^he    aw  in  to 

r:L^s.^rtes!utt:I:;:^5^^^^^^^^ 

which  a  State  was  a  party.     This  suit  was  perfectly  sim 
ar  to  any  other  cause,  except  that  the  quality  rf le  p" 
nes  was  different;  and  here  the  danger  pointed  ou    at  rtl 

oemg  a,  oided.    It  „  inherent  in  the  very  essence  of  Fed- 
•  See  Kent's  Commentaries,  Vol.  1.  p.  387. 


-n"i| 


^'  f|   1 


190 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


eral  constitutions,  that  they  should  create  parties  in  the 
bosom  of  the  nation,  which  present  powerftd  obstacles  to 
the  free  course  of  justice. 


HIGH    RANK  OF  THE   SUPREME  COURT  AMONGST  THE  GREAT 

POWERS   OF   STATE. 

No  Nation  ever  constituted  so  great  a  Judicial  Power  as  the  Americans.  — 
Extent  of  its  Prerogatives.  —  Its  Political  Influence. — The  Tranquillity 
and  the  very  Existence  of  the  Union  depend  on  the  Discretion  of  the 
seven  Federal  Judges. 

When  we  have  examined  in  detail  the  organization  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  entire  prerogatives  which  it 
exercises,  we  shall  readily  admit  that  a  more  imposing 
judicial  power  was  never  constituted  by  any  people.  The 
Supreme  Court  is  placed  higher  than  any  known  tribunal, 
both  by  the  nature  of  its  rights  and  the  class  of  justiciable 
parties  which  it  controls. 

In  all  the  civilized  countries  of  Europe,  the  government 
has  always  shown  the  greatest  reluctance  to  allow  the  cases 
in  which  it  was  itself  interested  to  be  decided  by  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  justice.  This  repugnance  is  naturally 
greater  as  the  government  is  more  absolute ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  privileges  of  the  courts  of  justice  are  ex- 
tended with  the  increasing  liberties  of  the  people :  but  no 
European  nation  has  yet  held  that  all  judicial  controversies, 
without  regard  to  their  origin,  can  be  left  to  the  judges  of 
common  law. 

In  America,  this  theory  has  been  actually  put  in  prac- 
tice ;  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  is  the 
sole  tribunal  of  the  nation.  Its  power  extends  to  all  cases 
arising  under  laws  and  treaties  made  by  the  national  au- 
thorities, to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction, 
and,  in  general,  to  all  points  which  affect  the  law  of  nations. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION.  ^yj 

tion  with  foreiVn  powers  •  thp  r!l  .•         p'  ^.     ""^  ^^^  "*" 

themselves  JaCtTu  re^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^ 

the  States.  ^eguiated  by  the  sovereignty  of 

A  second  and  still  m-eater  pji«co  ^f  ^-l 
of  this  court  may  be  adS     In  V  P'«P''"<'^'^n'=e 

the  courts  of  jusfe  ZZl  cL  °™  "'  ^"°P^' 

troversies  of  private  indirdLs    1 T  ^  "^  *'  •=""" 

of  the  TTnifpr]  Qf  4.        '""'""^^"^s ,  but  the  Supreme  Court 

wht  *:"  t'^herurdir^  t^-^  *-  ■■'»  ^- 

tribunal,  and  simply  sayTTThesr  Tm^'  '^'P'  "^  "■' 
The  State  of  0W„  "Tt  •         ^S     "'^  ^^^  ^"*  "«•»» 

court  which  L^dresLisT"'  "'-'"'  *"'  *« 
it  is  recollected  ITo;  of  twf  "L  ''''  """-^ -■'™ 
million,  and  the  other  two  mi  | i^s  7^?  '"^""■''*"  ""' 
by  the  responsibility  of  the  seven T,/  .'  ""V  ''""='' 
about  to  sTtisfy  or  to  disfpnoTnT  J T^'  "^'^  ''"='™"  " 
fellow-cihW  """PP™"'  ^0  l^-'ge  a  nmnber  of  their 

Without  thetircts^^tf  iin:  itir«- 

the  Executive  appeals  to  th™  „      ".  ^  *  ^^»<J  '«««•• 
encroachments  I/t  l^ilutrve'^r.'r  LfTt^'^ 

States  the  Stat  from  th?r      ""  t  <"^'''"''l'«n<=«  «f  the 
t..e  P  blic  inteiraiVSTnt^rl^Ibf- 

public  opinion    ^heTa^'^rpZ^r^i^  f  '^  *^  ""^^^  "^ 
^P.t  the  W,  but^ther:ri*!„;t-STS! 


:if 


i  t 


4 


1 1 


192 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


ular  neglect  or  contempt  of  the  law.  The  force  of  public 
opinion  is  the  most  intractable  of  agents,  because  its  exact 
limits  cannot  be  defined ;  and  it  is  not  less  dangerous  to 
exceed,  than  to  remain  below,  the  boundary  prescribed. 

The  Federal  judges  must  not  only  be  good  citizens,  and 
men  of  that  information  and  integrity  which  are  indispen- 
sable to  all  magistrates,  but  they  must  be  statesmen,  wise 
to  discern  the  signs  of  the  times,  not  afraid  to  brave  the 
ol)stacles  which  can  be  subJueJ,  nor  slow  to  turn  away 
from  the  current  when  it  threatens  to  sweep  them  off,  and 
the  supremacy  of  the  Union  and  the  obedience  due  to  the 
laws  along  with  them. 

The  President,  who  exercises  a  lunited  power,  may  err 
without  causing  great  mischief  in  the  state.  Congress 
may  decide  amiss  without  destroying  the  Union,  because 
the  electoral  body  in  which  the  Congress  originates  may 
cause  it  to  retract  its  decision  by  changing  its  members. 
But  if  the  Supreme  Court  is  ever  composed  of  unprudent 
or  bad  men,  the  Union  may  be  plunged  into  anarchy  or 
civil  war. 

The  original  cause  of  this  danger,  however,  does  not  lie 
in  the  constitution  of  the  tribunal,  but  in  the  very  nature 
of  federal  governments.  We  have  seen  that,  in  confed- 
erate states,  it  is  especially  necessary  to  strengthen  the  judi- 
cial power,  because  in  no  other  nations  do  those  indepen- 
dent persons  who  are  able  to  contend  with  the  social  body 
exist  in  greater  power,  or  in  a  better  condition  to  resist  the 
physical  strength  of  the  government.  But  the  more  a 
power  requires  to  be  strengthened,  the  more  extensive  and 
independent  it  must  be  made ;  and  the  dangers  which  its 
abuse  may  create  are  heightened  by  its  independence  and 
its  strength.  The  source  of  the  evil  is  not,  therefore,  in 
the  constitution  of  the  power,  but  in  the  constitution  of 
the  state  which  renders  the  existence  of  such  a  power 
necessary. 


mmam 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTI FUTION. 


193 


m   WHAT    RESPECTS    THB    FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION    18    SUPE- 
RIOR   TO  THAT   OF   THE   STATES. 

independent  in  its  Sphere  —  I.H:,.i.i  v  .  "°°™  '^'"""  mora 
„f  ,k.  m  •  ■  "Pnore-  — Judicial  Power  less  subjected  to  tlie  Will 
of  th.Mmority._J.ractie.I  Con»!quence  of  these  Fact,        Th,!; 

Letnsl.,„«,  .„d  ineraesed  bjr  .he  Legislators  of  ,he  States 

The  Fecleral  Constitution  differs  essentially  from  tliat  of 
he  Smt^  tn  the  ends  which  it  is  intended  t'o  acLpull 
bnt  in  the  means  by  which  these  ends  are  attained  a 
greater  analogy  exists  between  them.  The  oh^T^lC 
governments  are  different,  but  their  forms  a«'tl,e  "am 
and  in  this  special  point  „f  view,  there  is  son^.e  advaX^ 
m  comparing  them  with  each  other.  ^ 

I  am  of  opinion,  for  several  reasons,  that  the  Federal 
Consmution  is  superior  to  any  of  the  State  constitutions 

The  present  Constitution  of  the  Union  was  formed  at  a 
later  period  than  those  of  the  majority  of  the  Stat™  and  i^ 
»ay  have  profited  by  this  additional  V  nee  Bufw 
shaU  be  convinced  that  this  is  only  a  secondaiy  cause  of  I.I 
supenonty,  when  we  recollect  that  eleven  [twentylel 
new  States  have  since  been  added  .o  the  Unon,^^d°hat 
these  new  republics  have  almost  always  rather  exCltl 
th^edied  the  defects  which  existed  in  the  forl^r  ctn- 

atit^onf^'T  V^'  ™P'"""'y  "f  *«  F'^'J^ol  Con- 

posed  ,t.     At  the  time  when  it  was  formed,  the  ruin  of  the 
Confederation  seemed  imminent  and  it=  ^  J  • 

sallv  know,.      I„  *!.•      ™™r' "'"'  "«  "anger  was  umvei^ 
w  Iio  ™17^  ll  «*e>n>ty,  the  people  chose  the  men 

who  most  deserved  the  esteem,  mther  than  those  who  had 


I       i 


194 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


gained  the  affections,  of  the  country.  I  have  ah'eady  ob- 
served, that,  distinguished  as  ahnost  all  the  legislators  of  the 
Union  were  for  their  intelligence,  they  were  still  more  so 
for  their  patriotism.  They  had  all  been  nurtured  at  a  time 
when  the  spirit  of  liberty  was  braced  by  a  continual  strug- 
gle against  a  powerful  and  dominant  authority.  When  the 
contest  was  terminated,  whilst  the  excited  passions  of  the 
populace  persisted,  as  usual,  in  Avarring  against  dangers 
which  had  ceased  to  exist,  these  men  stopped  short ;  they 
cast  a  calmer  and  more  penetrating  look  upon  their  coun- 
try ;  they  perceived  that  a  definitive  revolution  had  been 
accomphshed,  and  that  the  only  dangers  which  America 
had  now  to  fear  were  those  which  might  result  from  the 
abuse  of  freedom.  They  had  the  courage  to  say  what  they 
believed  to  be  true,  because  they  were  animated  by  a  warm 
aiii  sincere  love  of  liberty ;  and  they  ventured  to  propose 
restrictions,  because  they  were  resolutely  opposed  to  de- 
struction.* 

Most  of  the  State  constitutions  assign  one  year  for  the 
duration  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  two  years 
for  that  of  the  Senate ;  so  that  members  of  the  legislative 
body  are  constantly  and  narrowly  tied  down  by  the  slight- 

*  At  this  time,  Alexander  Hamilton,  who  was  one  of  the  principal  found- 
ers of  the  Constitution,  ventured  to  express  the  following  sentiments  in  the 
Federalist,  No.  71  :  — 

"  There  are  some  who  would  be  inclined  to  regard  the  servile  pliancy  of 
t!ie  Executive  to  a  prevailing  current,  either  in  the  community  or  in  the 
legislature,  as  its  best  recommendation.  But  such  men  entertain  very  crude 
notions,  as  Avell  of  the  purposes  for  which  government  waa  instituted,  as  of 
the  true  means  by  which  the  public  happiness  may  be  promoted.  The  re- 
|)uhlican  principle  demands,  that  the  deliberative  sense  of  the  community 
s!iould  govern  the  conduct  of  those  to  whom  they  intrust  the  management 
of  their  affairs ;  but  it  does  not  require  an  unqualified  complaisance  to  every 
sudden  breeze  of  passion,  or  to  every  transient  impulse  which  the  people 
may  receive  from  the  arts  of  men  who  flatver  tlieir  prejudices  to  betray  their 
interests.  It  is  a  just  observation,  that  the  ocopk  commonly  intend  the  pui)lk 
good.     This  often  applies  to  their  very  ':ifror8.    But  their  good  sense  would 


r««*'A»yfe-;ap'^0fe»».^  .  kn\ti^:-^ 


^^ 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  195 

consequence  wa,  tllttl  T'  "'"'"''"•     The 

lepxesent  tne  same  interests  n«  tTi^  ^*t        -^      .  , 

represent  more  wisdom      A  '  ''  ""'-^'^  ^*  ^^^^^ 

I'  more  wisdom.     A  mature  age  was  necessary  to 

despise  the  adulator  who  should  pretend  thnf  fl,n.    i 

the  means  of  promoting  it.     They  know  frl'"^         '"  '"^  "^'^  ^'^"' 

times  err;  and  the  wonder  is  tW  ..  «^P«™nce  that  they  some- 

they  conti;„alIy     e  Ty  the  wil  s  c '      '  "      '''"'  "^  "  '''''  ''''  ^-^'  - 
of  the  ambition's";  Ir  ii      "  ^^^  T''''  "°t  ^'"^''^"^^  ^  ^^  '''  '''^^^^ 

possess  their  eonfidenerrrXLr;i^'^^^^^ 

posses.  Mhcr  than  to  tecrvo  I,      Ji  '  ""°  "''°  '"k  '« 

wMch  ,he  interests  of  theZ  ,  """">""  P"^""'  ""■"'^l™  i- 

.hose  4,^ts  to^^ri  ;"  '^''"•"T'™''  "'  '«  '""Su-ansof 
.tocnd  oppo*„IflrmolooT''T"^.  *"•  '°  "*'  "'^"■«  '"™ 
be  cited,  in^^hich  1  cLTe,  „!""'!  't'°  "'V'"'-  '"'""^  »>■«"' 
fatal  consequence,  of  thei  "I  ^.^^ ^"  Z  7f  """"  '°^ 

mcnt,  of  thcir  gratitndo  to  thoTl    T'  T  .        '"°''"""'  '""'""  ■"»"»■ 

™on,h,ose„e.i„r„:;::r;:h:xir?"  -"  "■"-"'■""' 


196 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


become  a  Senator,  and  the  Senate  was  chosen  by  an  elect- 
ed assembly  of  a  limited  number  of  members. 

To  concentrate  the  whole  social  force  in  the  hands  of  the 
legislative  body  is  the  natural  tendency  of  democracies ;  for 
as  this  is  the  power  which  emanates  the  most  directly  from 
the  people,  it  has  the  greater  share  of  the  people's  over- 
whelming power,  and  it  is  naturally  led  to  monopolize 
every  species  of  influence.  This  concentration  of  power 
is  at  once  very  prejudicial  to  a  well-conducted  administra- 
tion, and  favorable  to  the  despotism  of  the  majority.  The 
legislators  of  the  States  frequently  yielded  to  these  demo- 
cratic propensities,  which  were  invariably  and  courageously 
resisted  by  the  founders  of  the  Union. 

In  the  States,  the  executive  power  is  vested  in  the  hands 
of  a  magistrate,  who  is  apparently  placed  upon  a  level  with 
the  legislature,  but  who  is  in  reality  only  the  blind  agent 
and  the  passive  instrument  of  its  will.  He  can  derive  no 
power  from  the  duration  of  liis  office,  which  terminates 
in  one  year,  or  from  the  exercise  of  prerogatives,  for  he 
can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  any.  The  legislature  can 
condemn  him  to  inaction  by  intrusting  the  execution  of  its 
laws  to  special  committees  of  its  own  members,  and  can 
annul  his  temporary  dignity  by  cutting  down  his  salary.* 
The  Federal  Constitution  vests  all  the  privileges  and  all  the 
responsibility  of  the  executive  power  in  a  single  individual. 
The  duration  of  the  Presidency  is  fixed  at  four  years ;  the 
salary  cannot  be  altered  during  this  term ;  the  President  is 
protected  by  a  body  of  official  dependents,  and  armed  with 
a  suspensive  veto  :  in  short,  every  effort  was  made  to  con- 
fer a  strong  and  independent  position  upon  the  executive 
authority,  within  the  limits  which  were  prescribed  to  it. 

♦  Not  always.  In  several  of  the  States,  the  compensation  of  the  Governor 
cannot  be  lessened  during  his  term  of  oflSce.  So,  also,  the  Grovemor's  term 
is  not  always  for  a  single  year.  In  many  of  the  States  it  is  two,  in  som« 
it  is  three,  years.  —  Am.  Ed. 


lu  t 

which  i 

neverth 

to  itsel] 

judges, 

immedii 

pointed 

portion 

iegislatii 

The  Ser 

tain  cas 

Constitu 

judicial 

indepenc 

shall  not 

inalienab 

The  J 

may  easii 

remark  t] 

ter  cond 

conduct  ( 

perate  thj 

discretion 

combined 

consistenc 

I  recaj 

words. 

The  ex 
cipal  dan^ 
ture  to  th( 
of  all  the 
branch. 

The  del 
legislators 
have  done 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION. 


r 


197 


Im  the  State  constitutions,  the  judicial  power  is    tlmt 
which  18  the  most  independent  of  the  legislative  authority, 
nevertheless,  in  all  tlie  States,  the  legislature  has  reserved 
to  Itself   the  right  of  regulating  the  emoluments  of  the 
judges,  a  practice  which  necessarily  subjects  them  to  its 
immediate  mfluence.     In  some  States,  the  judges  are  ap- 
pomted  only  temporarily,  which  deprives  them  of  a  ^reat 
portion  of  their  power  and  their  freedom.     In  others^  the 
legislative   and  judicial  powers   are   entirely  confounded. 
The  Senate  of  New  York,  for  instance,  constitutes  in  cer- 
tam  cases  the  superior  court  of  the  State.     The  Federal 
Constitution,  on  the  other  hand,  carefully  separates  the 
judicial  power  from  all  the  others;  and  it  provides  for  the 
independence  of  the  judges,  by  declaring  that  their  salary 
shall  not  be  diminished,  and  that  their  functions  shall  be 
inalienable. 

The  practical  consequences  of  these  different  systems 
may  easily  be  perceived.  An  attentive  observer  will  soon 
remark  that  the  business  of  the  Union  is  incomparably  bet- 
ter  conducted  than  that  of  any  individual  State.  The 
conduct  of  the  Federal  government  is  more  fair  and  tem- 
perate  than  that  of  the  States;  it  has  more  prudence  and 
discretion,  its  projects  are  more  durable  and  more  skilfully 
combined,  its  measures  are  executed  with  more  vigor  and 
consistency.  * 

wordr^^'^""^^*^  *^^  substance  of  this  chapter  in  a  few 

^  The  existence  of  democracies  is  threatened  by  two  prin- 
cipal dangers  viz.  the  complete  subjection  of  the  legisla- 
ture to  the  will  of  the  electoral  body,  and  the  concentrttion 
branch  '  ^'''^'''  ""^  '^''  government  in  the  legislative 

The  development  of  these  evils  has  been  favored  by  the 
egislators  of  the  States;  but  the  legislators  of  the  Union 
have  done  all  they  could  to  render  them  less  formidable 


i  11 


r!| 


198 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  A3  COMPARED  WITH  ALL 
OTHER   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTIONS. 

TheAmciiru'  IJmon  appears  to  resemble  all  other  Confederations.  —  Yet 
it«  Effocta  aie  different.  —  Reason  of  thia.  —  In  what  tliis  Union  differs 
from  all  other  Confederations.  —  The  American  Government  not  a  Fed- 
eral, but  an  imperfect  National  Government. 

The  United  States  of  ALmerica  do  not  afford  the  first  or 
the  only  instance  of  a  contederation,  several  of  which  have 
existed  in  modem  Europe,  without  adverting  to  those  of 
antiquity.  Switzerland,  the  Germanic  Empire,  and  the 
Republic  of  the  Low  Countries,  either  have  been,  or  still 
are,  confederations.  In  studying  the  constitutions  of  these 
different  countries,  one  is  surprised  to  see  that  the  powers 
with  which  they  invested  the  federal  government  are 
nearly  the  same  with  those  awarded  by  the  American  Con- 
stitution to  the  government  of  the  United  States.  They 
confer  upon  the  central  power  the  same  rights  of  making 
peace  and  war,  of  raising  money  and  troops,  and  of  pro- 
viding for  the  general  exigencies  and  the  common  interests 
of  the  nation.  Nevertheless,  the  federal  government  of 
these  different  states  has  always  been  as  remarkable  for  its 
weakness  and  inefficiency  as  that  of  the  American  Union 
is  for  its  vigor  and  capacity.  Again,  the  first  American 
Confederation  perished  through  the  excessive  weakness  of 
its  government;  and  yet  this  weak  government  had  as 
large  rights  and  privileges  as  those  of  the  Federal  govern- 
ment of  the  present  day,  and  in  some  respects  even  larger. 
But  the  present  Constitution  of  the  United  States  contains 
certain  novel  principles,  which  exercise  a  most  important 
influence,  although  they  do  not  at  once  strike  the  observer. 

This  Constitution,  which  may  at  first  sight  be  con- 
founded with  the  federal  constitutions  which  have  preceded 
it,  rests  in  truth  upon  a  wholly  novel  theory,  which  may 


,rmimimTmiiii(mi*iimmm<iiiit^>-,tatmt 


THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION.  100 

be  considered  as  a  great  discovery  in  modern  political  sci- 
ence     In  all  the  confederations  which  preceded  the  Amer- 
lean  Constitution  of  1789,  the  allied  states  for  a  common 
object  agreed  to  obey  the  injunctions  of  a  federal  govern- 
ment; but  they  reserved  to  themselves  the  right  of  ordain- 
ing and  enforcing  the  execution  of  the  laws  of  the  .niion. 
Ihe  American  States  which  combined  in  1789  acrreed  that 
the  Federal  government  should  not  only  dictate  the  'laws, 
but  should  execute  its  own  enactments.     In  both  cases 
the  right  is  the  same,  but  the  exercise  of  the  n<M  is  dif- 
ferent; and  tliis  difference  produced  the  most  momentous 
consequences. 

In  all  the  confederations  which  preceded  the  American 
Union,  the  federal   government,  in   order  to  provide   for 
its  wants,  had  to  apply  to  the  separate  governments ;  and 
il  what  It  prescribed  was  disagreeable  to  any  one  of  them 
means  were  found  to  evade  its  claims.     If  it  was  power- 
hil.  It  then  had  recourse  to  arms ;  if  it  was  weak,  it  con- 
nived at  the  resistance  which  the  law  of  the  union    its 
sovereign,  met  with,  and  did  nothing,  under  the  plea'  of 
mabihty      Under  these  circumstances,  one  of  two  results 
mvariably  followed:  either  the  strongest  of  the  alHed  states 
assumed  the  privileges  of  the  federal  authority,  and  ruled 
aU  the  others  in  its  name ;  •   or  the  federal  government 
was  abandoned  by  its  natural  supporters,  anarchy  arose 
between  the  confederates,  and  the  union  lost  aU  power  of 
action.f 

In  America,  the  subjects  of  the  Union  are  not  States, 

♦  This  waa  the  ca.e  in  Greece,  when  Philip  undertook  to  execute  the  de- 
crees of  the  Amphictyons;  in  the  Low  Countries,  where  the  province  of 
Holland  always  gave  the  law;  and.  in  our  own  time,  in  the  Germanic  Con- 
fedemtion.  m  which  A,istria  and  Prussia  make  themselves  the  agents  of  the 
Diet,  and  rule  the  whole  confederation  in  its  name. 

t  Such  has  always  bc«n  the  situation  of  the  Swiss  Confederation,  which 
would  have  penshed  ages  ago  but  for  the  mutual  jealousies  of  it«  neigl^ 


200 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


but  private  citizens :  the  national  government  levies  a  tax, 
not  upon  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  but  upon  each  inhab* 
itant  of  Massachusetts.  The  old  confederate  governments 
presided  over  communities,  but  that  of  the  Union  presides 
over  individuals.  Its  force  is  not  borrowed,  but  self-de- 
rived;  and  it  is  served  by  its  own  civil  and  military  officers, 
its  own  army,  and  its  own  courts  of  justice.  It  cannot  be 
doubted  that  the  national  spirit,  the  passions  of  the  multi- 
tude, and  the  provincial  prejudices  of  each  State,  still  tend 
singularly  to  diminish  the  extent  of  the  Federal  authority 
thus  constituted,  and  to  facilitate  resistance  to  its  mandates ; 
but  the  comparative  weakness  of  a  restricted  sovereignty  is 
an  evil  inherent  in  the  Federal  system.  In  America,  e&oh 
State  has  fewer  opportunities  and  temptations  to  resist: 
nor  can  such  a  design  be  put  in  execution,  (if  indeed  it  be 
entertained,)  without  an  open  violation  of  the  laws  of  the 
Union,  a  direct  interruption  of  the  ordinaiy  course  of  jus- 
tice, and  a  bold  declaration  of  revolt ;  in  a  word,  without 
taking  the  decisive  step  which  men  always  hesitate  to 
adopt. 

In  all  former  confederations,  the  privileges  of  the  Union 
furnished  more  elements  of  discord  than  of  power,  since 
they  multiplied  the  claims  of  the  nation  without  augment- 
ing the  means  of  enforcing  them :  and  hence  the  real  weak 
ness  of  federal  governments  has  almost  always  been  in  the 
exact  ratio  of  their  nominal  power.  Such  is  not  the  case 
in  the  American  Union,  in  which,  as  in  ordinary  govern- 
ments, the  Federal  power  has  the  means  of  enforcing  all 
it  is  empowered  to  demand. 

The  human  understanding  more  easily  invents  new 
things  than  new  words,  and  we  are  hence  constrained  to 
employ  many  improper  and  inadequate  expressions.  When 
several  nations  form  a  peimanent  league,  and  establish  a 
supreme  authority,  which,  although  it  cannot  act  upon  pri- 
vate individuals,  like  a  national  government,  still  acts  upon 


>  , 


THE   FEDEKAL  CONSTITUTION.  Jfll 

e*ch  of  the  confederate  states  in  a  body,  this  covcniment 
whch  «  ,0  ossentiaUy  different  fro™  ^all  othe'Z  s "X 
Fedend  Another  form  of  society  is  afterwards  dLcover^C 
m  which  several  states  are  fused  into  one  with  regard  to 
certain  common  interests,  although  they  remain  dSt  or 
only  confederate,  with  regard  tt  all  other  conce^  In 
this  case  the  central  power  acts  directly  upon  Te  J," 

n^ir  "  """  T'  J-''^-  in  the  sLe'mann  r!^  a 
nauona  government,  but  in  a  mo.«  limited  circle.  Evi! 
dently  tlm  ,s  „o  longer  a  federal  government,  but  an 
.ncomp  ete  national  government,  which  is  neithe  ex  ct^ 
national  nor  exactly  federal;  but  the  new  word  wWch 
ougU  to  express  this  novel  thing  does  not  yet  exist 

Ignorance  of  this  new  species  of  confedemtion  has  been 
^e  cause  which  has  brought  all  unions  to  civil  war,  to  sei^! 
vitude,  or  to  mertness;  and  the  states  which  formed  these 
eague.  have  been  either  too  duU  to  discern,  or  too  pS 
lanimom  to  apply,  this  great  remedy.  The  fikt  AmerSn 
confederation  perished  by  the  same  defects. 

But  in  America,  the  confederate  States  had  been  Ion.. 

Sabit  'f  *'"  '"''^P»"'l^»'=«!  *%  had  not  contracted  the 
oni^  nr  •  7"";^""''''''  complel^ly;  and  their  na- 
tional prejudices  had  not  taken  deep  root  m  their  minds 
Supenor  to  the  rest  of  the  world  in  political  knowwl 
and  sharing  Uiat  knowledge  equally  longst  themselvS 
they  were  httle  agitated  by  the  passions  which  generally 
oppose  the  extension  of  federal  authority  m  a  nalon,  and 

e»t  men.  The  Americans  applied  the  remedy  with  firm- 
ness,  as  soon  a.  they  were  conscious  of  the  evil ;  they 
amended  their  laws,  and  saved  the  country  ^ 


202 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


II 

r..- 

j,  >;■' 

9|H 

1'   •' 

tf  Mh 

% 

^^^i^ 

'i 

ADVANTAGES   OF  THE    FEDERAL    SYSTEM   IN    GENERAL,    AND 
ITS   SPECIAL   UTIUTY   IN    AMERICA. 

Happiness  and  Freedom  of  small  Nations.  —  Power  of  great  Nations.  — 
Great  Empires  favorable  to  the  Growth  of  Civilization.  —  StrcngtJi  of- 
ten the  first  Element  of  National  Prosperity.  —  Aim  of  the  Federal  Sys- 
tem to  unite  the  twofold  Advantages  resulting  from  a  small  and  from  a 
large  Territory.  —  Advantages  derived  by  the  United  States  from  this 
System.  Tlie  Law  adapts  itself  to  the  Exigencies  of  the  Population ; 
Population  docs  not  conform  to  the  Exigencies  of  the  Law.  —  Activity, 
Progress,  the  Love  and  Enjoyment  of  Freedom,  in  American  Commu- 
nities —  Public  Spirit  of  the  Union  is  only  the  Aggregate  of  Provincial 
Patriotism.  —  Principles  and  Things  circulate  freely  over  the  Territory 
of  the  United  States.  —  The  Union  is  happy  and  free  as  a  little  Nation, 
and  respected  as  a  great  one. 

In  small  states,  the  watchfulness  of  society  penetrates 
fiito  every  part,  and  the  spirit  of  improvement  enters  into 
the  smallest  details ;  the  ambition  of  the  people  being 
necessarily  checked  by  its  weakness,  ail  the  efforts  and 
resources  of  the  citizens  are  turned  to  the  internal  well- 
being  of  the  community,  and  are  not  likely  to  evaporate  in 
the  fleeting  breath  of  glory.  The  powers  of  every  individ- 
ual being  generally  limited,  his  desires  are  proportionally 
small.  Mediocrity  of  fortune  makes  the  various  conditions 
of  life  nearly  equal,  and  the  manners  of  the  inhabitants  are 
orderly  and  simple.  Thus,  all  things  considered,  and  al- 
lowance being  made  for  the  various  degrees  of  morality 
and  enlightenment,  we  shall  generally  find  in  small  na- 
tions more  persons  in  easy  circumstances,  more  content- 
ment and  tranquillity,  than  in  large  ones. 

When  tyranny  is  established  in  the  bosom  of  a  small 
state,  it  is  more  galling  than  elsewhere,  because,  acting  in 
a  narrower  circle,  everything  in  that  circle  is  affected  by 
it.  It  supplies  the  place  of  those  great  designs  which  it 
cannot  entertain,  by  a  violent  or  exasperating  interference 
in  a  multitude  of  minute  details ;  and  it  leaves  the  political 


Jtti(MK>««,;*»iMa««lil«<»«**»^ 


THE  FEDEBAL  COSSTITDTION.  208 

world,  to  which  it  properly  belongs,  to  meddle  with  the 
amngement.  of  private  life.  Tastes  as  well  as  actions  are 
to  be  regulated ;  and  the  families  of  the  citizens,  as  well  as 
the  state,  are  to  be  governed.  This  invasion  of  rights 
occurs  however,  but  seldom,  freedom  being  in  truth  tie 
uatund  state  of  small  communities.  The  temptati  „ 
whch  the  government  offers  to  ambition  are  too  weak 
and  the  resources  of  private  individuals  are  too  slendt,' 
for  tlie  sovereign  power  easily  to  fall  into  the  grasp  of  a 

of  the  state  can  eosdy  unite  a.,d  overthrow  the  tyrant  and 
the  tyranny  at  once  by  a  common  effort. 

J^'^^T'""'  ''T  *'■'"''''"•''  ^^-^  ^"^  "'o  cradle  of  ' 
poht.«d  bberty ;  and  the  fact  that  many  of  them  have  l^t 

the,r  hberty  by  becoming  larger,  shows  that  their  fi-eedom  ' 
was  more  a  consequence  of  their  small  size  than  of  the  ■ 
character  of  the  people.  - 

The  history  of  the  world  affords  no  instance  of  a  great 
nation  retaunng  the  form  of  republican  gove„,ment  for  a 

haf  rr  t/'"-'*  ""*  "''^  ''"  '"-J  'o  *«  conclusion 
that  such  a  tlnng  ,s  impracticable.     For  my  own  part,  I 

tlunk  .t  imprudent  to  attempt  to  limit  what  is  possible,  and 

to  judsre  the  ft,ture,  for  men  who  are  every  day  deceived  in 

relation  to  the  actual  and  the  present,  an'd  often  taTenW 

urpr.se  m  the  cn-cumstances  with  which  they  are  most 

amihar.     But  ,t  may  be  said  with  confidence,  fhat  a  g^^a 

repubhc  wdl  always  be  exposed  to  more  perils  than  a  smi 

AH  the  passions  which  are  most  fatal  to  republican  insti- 
tutions mcrease  with  an  increasing  territo,;,  whilst  tt 
virtues  which  favor  them  do  not  "augment^;  the  same 

Sr:      ^'^T''"""   "  P"™'^  citizens  trZ 
with  the  power  of  the  state ;  the  strength  of  parties,  with 


^^ 


:i?33af-^«esswes^*n 


204 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


y/ 


the  importance  of  the  ends  they  have  in  view ;  but  the 
love  of  country,  which  ought  to  check  these  destructive 
agencies,  is  not  stronger  in  a  large  than  in  a  small  republic. 
It  might,  indeed,  be  easily  proved  that  it  is  less  powerful 
and  less  developed.  Great  wealth  and  extreme  poverty, 
capital  cities  of  large  size,  a  lax  morality,  selfishness,  and 
antagonism  of  interests,  are  the  dangers  which  almost  in- 
variably arise  from  the  magnitude  of  states.  Several  of 
these  evils  scarcely  injure  a  monarchy,  and  some  of  them 
even  contribute  to  its  strength  and  duration.  In  monarch- 
ical states,  the  government  has  its  peculiar  strength ;  it 
may  use,  but  it  does  not  depend  on,  the  community ;  and 
the  more  numerous  the  people,  the  stronger  is  the  prince. 
But  the  only  security  which  a  re})ublican  government  pos- 
sesses against  these  evils  lies  in  the  support  of  the  majority. 
This  support  is  not,  however,  proportionably  greater  in  a 
large  republic  than  in  a  small  one ;  and  thus,  whilst  the 
means  of  attack  perpetually  increase,  both  in  number  and 
influence,  the  power  of  resistance  remains  the  same ;  or  it 
may  rather  be  said  to  diminish,  since  the  inclinations  and 
interests  of  the  people  are  more  diversified  by  the  increase 
of  the  population,  and  the  difficulty  ol*  forming  a  compact 
majority  is  constantly  augmented.  It  has  been  observed, 
moreover,  that  the  intensity  of  human  passions  is  height- 
ened not  only  by  the  importance  of  the  end  which  they 
propose  to  attain,  but  by  the  multitude  of  individuals  who 
are  animated  by  them  at  the  same  time.  Every  one  has 
had  occasion  to  remark,  that  his  emotions  in  the  midst  of 
a  sympathizing  crowd  are  far  greater  than  those  which  he 
would  have  felt  in  solitude.  In  great  republics,  political 
passions  become  irresistible,  not  only  becaUo3  they  aim  at 
gigantic  objects,  but  because  they  are  felt  and  shared  by 
millions  of  men  at  the  same  time. 

It  may,  therefor  i,  be  asserted  as  a  general  proposition, 
that  nothing  is  more  oiT)osed  to  the  well-being  and  the 


/ 


I 


uf3miS$mit>iii^V^amufsamijeiimifWgs»Mi$tg 


>:mi».ugmmm9m.r 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  205 

freedom  of  men  than  vast  empires.     Nevertheless,  it  is 
important  to  acknowledge  the  peculiar  advantages  of  great 
states.     For  the  very  reason  that  the  desire  of  powS  is 
more  intense  m  these  communities  than  amongst  ordinary 
men  the  love  of  glory  is  also  more  developed  fn  the  hearth 
of  certam  citizens,  who  regard  the  applause  of  a  great  peo- 
ple as  a  reward  worthy  of  their  exertions,  and  an  eleva  inc. 
encouragement  to  man.     If  we  would  learn  why  great  na! 
tions  contribute  more  powerfully  to  the  increase  of  knowl- 
edge and  the  advance  of  civihzation  than  small  states,  we 
shall  discover  an  adequate  cause  in  the  more  rapid  and 
energetic  circulation   of  ideas,  and  in   those  great  cities 
which  are  the  intellectual  centres  where  all  the  rays  of 
human  gemus  are  reflected  and  combined.     To  this  it  may  ^ 
be  added,  that  most  important  discoveries  demand  a  use  of  ^ 
national  power  which  the  government  of  a  small  state  I's 
unable  to  make:   in   great  nations,  the  government  has  7 
more  enlarged  ideas,  and  i.  more  completely  disengaged 
from  the  routine  of  precedent  and  the  selfishness  of  local  ^ 
feehng ;  its  designs  are  conceived  with  more  talent,  and 
executed  with  more  boldness. 

In  time  of  peace,  the  well-being  of  small  nations  is  un- 
doubtedly more  general  and  complete ;  but  they  are  apt  to 
suffer  more  acutely  from  the  calamities  of  war  than  those 
great  empires  whose  distant  frontiers  may  long  avert  the 
presence  of  the  danger  from  the  mass  of  the  ;eople,  who 
are  therefore  more  frequently  afflicted  than  ruined  by  the 

But  in  this  matter,  as  in  many  others,  the  decisive  argu- 
ment IS  the  necessity  of  the  case.  If  none  but  small  Z- 
tions  existed,  I  do  not  doubt  that  mankind  would  be  more 

lT.2ur  "^  '• ""' '"  '^'^'^"- "'  ^- »-'- « 

nif -r'  'f"^^  """  '"™™'  a  condition  of  national 
prosperity.     It  profit,  a  state  but  little  to  be  affluent  and 


206 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


N- 


V. 


free,  if  it  is  perpetually  exposed  to  be  pillaged  or  subju- 
gated ;  its  manufactures  and  commerce  are  of  small  ad- 
vantage, if  another  nation  has  the  empire  of  the  seas  and 
gives  the  law  in  all  the  markets  of  the  globe.  Small  na- 
tions are  often  miserable,  not  because  tlioy  are  small,  but 
because  they  are  weak;  and  great  empires  prosper,  less 
because  they  are  great,  than  because  they  are  strong. 
Physical  strength  is  thei-efore  one  of  the  first  conditions  of 
the  happiness,  and  even  of  the  existence,  of  nations.  Hence 
it  occurs,  that,  unless  very  peculiar  circumstances  intervene, 
small  nations  are  always  united  to  lai-ge  empires  in  the  end, 
either  by  force  or  by  their  own  consent.  I  know  not  a 
more  deplorable  condition  than  that  of  a  people  unable  to 
defend  itself  or  to  provide  for  its  own  wants. 

The  Federal  system  was  created  with  the  intention  of 
combining  the  different  advantages  which  result  from  the 
magnitude  and  the  littleness  of  nations :  and  a  jrlance  at 
the  United  States  of  America  discovers  the  advantanes 
n  iUch  thev  have  derived  from  its  adoption. 

In  great  centralized  nations,  the  legislator  is  obliged  to 
give  a  character  of  uniformity  to  the  laws,  which  does  not 
always  suit  the  diversity  of  customs  and  of  districts  ;  as  he 
takes  no  cognizance  of  special  cases,  he  can  only  proceed 
upon  general  principles ;  and  the  po]>ulation  are  obliged  to 
conform  to  the  exigencies  of  the  legislation,  since  the 
legislation  cannot  adapt  itself  to  the  exigencies  and  the 
customs  of  the  population  ;  which  is  a  great  cause  of 
trouble  and  misery.  This  disadvantage  does  not  exist  in 
confederations  ;  Congress  regulates  the  principal  measures 
of  the  national  government ;  and  all  the  details  of  tlie  ad- 
ministration are  reserved  to  the  provincial  legislatures. 
One  can  hardly  imagine  how  much  this  division  of  sov- 
ereignty contributes  to  the  well-being  of  each  of  the  States 
which  compose  the  Union.  In  these  small  communities, 
which  are  never  agitated  by  the  desire  of  aggrandizement 


or  th 

enerjo 

centrj 

juxta] 

which 

every 

the  Icj 

stimul 

This  s 

ican   r 

the  an 

danger 

in  Am( 

republii 

ui)on  tl 

and  it  i 

fortunes 

Americ 

instead  i 

It  is 

of  repul 

created 

In  a  sm 

where  c: 

political 

no  wars 

honor  cai 

ment  can 

pMoHc. 

manners 
created  a 
be  afterw; 
spirit  of  t 
aggre£:jite 
Provinces. 


«(ti»ttS»«»»i*!«*Ma8ii!«iM^^^^ 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  £07 

central  government  of  elcl    StatT  i/T"™"™'^-     ^'"' 
juxtaposition  to  the  eitCs   I,  ,11  "  '"  '"""^''^'^ 

wl.icl,  arise  in  society    "^     ''"'^  "PP™^-!  of  ,l,o  wants 

-er,  year,  ^^k^2 [l^^ZZT'""'  ""  ^''""^'' 
the  legislature  nn,l  v  i     ,^'^  *»  town-meetings  or  by 

-•muCtet'rrt  '"to'e:rr"';'"''  "^/''^ "--  - 

This  spirit  of  improvementT       .    '".  '"^"  "'^  ""^  '="«<^'''- 
ican  republics    wX,  '™^'"""y  «'ive  in  the  Ametv 

ti.e  ambition  :f;:^:ViXT";i:'"f  "'^■'-  '""""-""'y' 

dangerous  desire' J  ^S!  t  -"^  "'"r'  ""''  '''^^ 
in  America,  that  the  existenc?and  1  "  ^'"""^  '"'""■<'<' 
republican  form  of  goyerlelTn  t  7"'"' w"""'=  "^  "'" 
upon  the  existence  anJrt     ,  ^'^  ^^'"•''>  J'=Pe"d 

and  it  is  not  «n„  LT  to  a  .r  ''",°'""'  ^'"'''^'■="  ^y^'<"» ' 
fortunes  whichlave  hen  '  ■."  ''^^''  ^''"^^  °*'  ""=  ■"-- 
America  to   fte  inl,n       '™   *'^.  "^^  States  of  South 

'■■-dofadilSZLreT^^^^^^^ 

created  in  tlie  town.!,;...  "'^^^"^^^^d  States  were  first 
In  a  small  Statr^'L™  CoX-  r,  ^'•™'"'- 
where  cutting  a  canal  or  laving  1™'!  If  is'"'"""' 
pohfcal  question,  where  the  State  halno  a™y  tl  ''™,' 
"0  wars  ,0  cany  „„,  ,„„  ,„,,,,  much  .^2h  '"^  "",'' 
honor  cannot  be  river    a  h         i  "  "'   ""'c'l 

...ent  can  be  more'^rat^ra  oV  '  ""  """^  "'  «°™™- 
I'^iie-     But  ,t  is  th     «  ,  fPl"-''P"^'<'  "'an  a  re- 

".anne.  and  u  „m  ofa  l"'""'?"  '"''"'' ''  ''  "'- 
-eated  and  nurtted  i^  the  ^/"':  \"''"''  '"'™  •"•- 
be  afterwards  apnliedtlH  "'  S'""'^.  "''ieh  must 

iius  applied  to  the  countrv  at  Inro-o      an         i .- 
spiru  or  tue  Union  ,•=   .^  *  '^J  at  laige.     1  he  public 

^^...or^::;r'jt:s::::;'~*»» 

P-mces.     Every  .ti.n  „f  L  Vni.^tlX^^Z 


HHHHBW 

PIW^     j  '■■ 

1      ' 

1    ' 

B 

1 

i" 

i 

* 

1 

Jr"'-" 

I       .1 


{  ( 


■ 


208 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


80  to  speak,  his  attachment  to  his  little  republic  into  the 
common  store  of  American  patriotism.  In  defending  the 
Union,  he  defends  the  increasing  prosperity  of  his  own 
State  or  county,  the  right  of  conducting  its  affairs,  and  the 
hope  of  causing  measures  of  improvement  to  be  adopted  in 
it  which  may  be  favorable  to  his  own  interests ;  and  these 
are  motives  which  are  wont  to  stir  men  more  than  the  gen- 
eral interests  of  the  country  and  the  glory  of  the  nation. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  temper  and  the  manners  of 
the  inhabitants  especially  fitted  them  to  promote  the  wel- 
fere  of  a  great  republic,  the  federal  system  renders  their 
task  less  difficult.  The  confederation  of  all  the  American 
States  presents  none  of  the  ordinary  inconveniences  re- 
sulting from  great  agglomerations  of  men.  The  Union  is 
a  great  republic  in  extent,  but  the  paucity  of  objects  for 
which  its  government  acts  assimilates  it  to  a  small  State. 
Its  acts  are  important,  but  they  are  rare.  As  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  Union  is  limited  and  incomplete,  its  exer- 
cise is  not  dangerous  to  liberty ;  for  it  does  not  excite  those 
insatiable  desires  of  fame  and  power  which  have  proved  so 
fatal  to  great  republics.  As  there  is  no  common  centre  to 
the  country,  great  capital  cities,  colossal  wealth,  abject  pov- 
erty, and  sudden  revolutions  are  alike  unknown ;  and  polit- 
ical passion,  instead  of  spreading  over  the  land  like  a  fire 
on  the  prairies,  spends  its  strength  against  the  interests  and 
the  individual  passions  of  every  State. 

Neverdieless,  tangible  objects  and  ideas  circulate  through- 
out the  Union  as  freely  as  in  a  country  inhabited  by  one 
people.  Nothing  checks  the  spirit  of  enterprise.  The 
government  invites  the  aid  of  all  who  have  talents  or 
knowledge  to  serve  it.  Inside  of  the  frontiers  of  the 
Union,  profound  peace  prevails,  as  within  the  heart  of 
some  great  empire  ;  abroad,  it  ranks  with  tho  most  power- 
fill  nations  of  the  earth :  two  thousand  miles  of  coast  are 
open  to  the  commerce  of  the  world ;  and  as  it  holds  the 


11 


««»Jil!>«»»«to.-»,*WjSt«,5^.Jt^»»*,jfc4«*«^^ 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  209 

keys  of  a  New  World,  its  flag  is  respected  in  ih.         . 
remote  spn^i      Ti,«  tt  •      -   -,    ^       respected  m  the  most 

Pie,  and  glorious  and  strong  as  a  great  nation. 

WHY   THE    FEDERAL   SYSTEM    IS    NOT    PRACTICABTV    .nr, 

...  aaop..  .e".eaer'^-::- ttr  ■'""'  -"'^ '-"  - 

When  a  legislator  succeeds,  after  many  efforts,  in  e«r- 
c.s.ng  an  anArect  influence  upon  the  destiny  of  nations  h, 
genms  .s  lauded  by  mankind,  whilst,  in  point  of  Zt)^ 
geographical  position  of  the  country  which  he  is  n^U^Z 
0  ange,  a  social  condition  which  aro'se  withou  his Tlone  ! 
afon,  manner,  and  opinions  which  he  cannot  trace  to^h  r 
ource,  and  an  origin  with  which  he  is  unacquainted"  exe 

hat  ho  .s  umself  borne  away  by  the  current  after  an  S- 

xu»el  which  bears  him,  but  he   can    neither  chancre  it. 

tTh-Zir '•'«-''--•■" ''■e.attni:: 

1  have  diown  the  advantages  which  the  American,  .!» 


n>  > 


f     i 


..il 


210 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


■ 


rive  from  their  Federal  system  ;  it  remains  for  me  to  point 
out  the  circumstances  which  enabled  them  to  adopt  it,  as 
its  benefits  cannot  be  enjoyed  by  all  nations.  The  acci- 
dental defects  of  the  federal  system  which  originate  in  the 
laws  may  be  corrected  by  the  skill  of  the  legislator,  but 
there  are  evils  inherent  in  the  system  which  cannot  be 
remedied  by  any  effort.  The  people  must  therefore  find  in 
themselves  the  strength  necessary  to  bear  the  natural  im- 
perfections of  their  government. 

The  most  promuient  evil  of  all  federal  systems  is  the 
complicated  nature  of  the  means  they  employ.  Two  sov- 
ereignties are  necessarily  in  presence  of  each  other.  The 
legislator  may  simplify  and  equalize,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
action  of  these  two  sovereignties,  by  limiting  each  of  them 
to  a  sphere  of  authority  accurately  defined ;  but  he  cannot 
combine  them  into  one,  or  prevent  them  from  coming  into 
collision  at  certain  points.  The  federal  system,  therefore, 
rests  upon  a  theory  which  is  complicated,  at  the  best,  and 
which  demands  the  daily  exercise  of  a  considerable  share 
of  discretion  on  the  part  of  those  it  governs. 

A  proposition  must  be  jilain,  to  be  adopted  by  the  under- 
standing of  a  people.  A  false  notion  which  is  clear  and 
precise  will  always  have  more  power  in  the  world  than  a 
true  principle  which  is  obscure  or  involved.  Hence  it 
happens  that  parties,  which  are  like  small  communities  in 
the  heart  of  the  nation,  invariably  adopt  some  principle  or 
name  as  a  symbol,  which  very  inadequately  represents  the 
end  they  have  in  view  and  the  means  which  they  employ, 
but  without  which  they  could  neither  act  nor  subsist.  The 
governments  which  are  founded  upon  a  single  principle  or 
a  single  feeling,  which  is  easily  defined,  are  perhaps  not 
the  best,  but  they  are  unquestionably  the  strongest  and  the 
most  durable  in  the  world. 

In  examining  the   Constitution   of  the  United  States, 
which  is  the  most  perfect  federal  constitution  that  ever 


existe 

the  a 

peoph 

the  U 

Unior 

the  m 

cemed 

Aft( 

ties  re] 

eignty 

that  it 

glance. 

ficial  ai 

people 

own  afi 

not  des( 

never  b 

judgme 

they  elu 

Federal 

America 

facility 

from  the 

after  ha 

come  un 

the  local 

point  ou 

the  Fede 

TheC 

fine  creat 

renown  t( 

hands.     ' 

ico  at  the 

establishir 

Constituti 


■t'iiuausiki<mita.jiisimisfm-/ekiai,^.fuaM.im» 


THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION.  211 

ficialand  conventional  tHluU  £11"";"!  '?  ""'■ 

people  wh,,.  ,„,„„,  ,^^„  iongre'„'ir:^:''rdtrit: 

from  those  created  by  the  laws  o/hi   own "  ^T:;: 
after  having  .liscriminated    between    the  m»»  7^^' 

r;:,t  ••■?  r«—  -^  '->e  Uni^n^nTSe  Z  iet 

oL  Tu  ^fe'trur.ir:/r' "  ^^°""'"'^'  -=-"  - 


I 


""-■^Viw.--  fr..W::a 


212 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


their  model,  and  copied  it  almost  entirely.*  But,  although 
they  had  borrowed  tlie  letter  of  the  law,  they  could  not  in- 
troduce the  spirit  and  the  sense  which  give  it  life.  They 
were  involved  in  ceaseless  embarrassments  by  the  mechan- 
ism of  their  double  government ;  the  sovereignty  of  the 
States  and  that  of  the  Union  perpetually  exceeded  their 
respective  privileges,  and  came  into  collision  ;  and  to  the 
present  day  Mexico  is  alternately  the  victim  of  anarchy 
and  the  slave  of  military  despotism. 

The  second  and  most  fatal  of  all  defects,  and  that  which 
I  beheve  to  be  inherent  in  the  federal  system,  is  the  rel- 
ative weakness  of  the  government  of  the  union.  The 
principle  upon  which  all  confederations  rest  is  that  of  a 
divided  sovereignty.  Legislators  may  rerder  this  partition 
less  perceptible,  they  may  even  conceal  it  for  a  time  from 
the  public  eye,  but  they  cannot  prevent  it  from  existing ; 
and  a  divided  must  always  be  weaker  than  an  entire  sov- 
ereignty. The  remarks  made  on  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  have  shown  with  what  skill  the  Americans, 
while  restraining  the  power  of  the  Union  within  the  nar- 
row limits  of  a  federal  government,  have  given  it  the  sem- 
blance, and  to  a  certain  extent  the  force,  of  a  national 
government.  By  this  means,  the  legislators  of  the  Union 
have  diminished  the  natural  danger  of  confederations,  but 
have  not  entirely  obviated  it. 

The  American  government,  it  is  said,  does  not  address 
itself  to  the  States,  but  transmits  its  injunctions  directly  to 
the  citizens,  and  compels  them  by  isolation  to  comj)ly  with 
its  demands.  But  if  the  Federal  law  were  to  clash  with 
the  interests  and  the  prejudices  of  a  State,  it  might  be 
feared  that  all  the  citizens  of  that  State  would  conceive 
themselves  to  be  interested  in  the  cause  of  a  single  indi- 
vidual who  should  refuse  to  obey.  If  all  the  citizens  of 
the  State  were  aggrieved  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same 

•  See  the  Mexican  Constitution  of  1824. 


manr 

ment 

they 

woulc 

the  so 

tion  w 

the  na 

Tiu 

Federi 

an  inv 

thouffli 

o 

aggriei 
repress 

He 

who  sh 

fictions 

those  n 

left  ope 

have  K 

less  proi 

fortune. 

collision 

the  Fed( 

possesse( 

*  For  ir 

ing  anoccn 

should  clai 

own  bound 

alone  which 

consequentl 

be  carried  c 

Ohio  and  tl 

and  the  Uc 

eral  purcha* 

whilst  the  ot 

of  the  State 


•**l»«-fe««l*. 


''**>'»^**»»«»««*l»«MI««*».-«*«».**«.s«S#«^ 


THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION.  213 

manner  by  the  authority  of  the  ITninn  .v    r  i     , 
ment  would  vainly  attimnt  ,„  .1 7'  ^'  ^"'^""^  S"™™' 
tl.e.y  would  instinctivlT,;;  ;:■'':''":  ""="■  i'"livid„ally : 
;vould  find  an  organiiti™  airL;     =  t^T  ""' 

t.-.tio,.  ^,fz::::::::!ztz^:^c'"" " 

represented  by  its  courts  of  justice  *  ^"''" 

left  open  to  them      tI    ^  ^     '""'  '^''"^^  ^^^^  been 

ess  probable,  have  not  destroyed  tTe  Zsl  ofTT'^"-' 

possessed  of  n>oney  and  troops,  U:  ^^Ll'l^Z; 

.hould  claim  ,he  «.„,  ri„,„  i„  Z^l  J    "^  "'°  ^'°'°  "^  <"'» 

owa  boundaries.  „po.  ,he  lltht  t^.  r    '"■'"'"  '"""  ''''"«  "'"'■■'  "» 
alone  which  do  no.  bc,„„l  m  «  „       ''°.°°°'"'""»"  «f™  •»  .ho.e  ,„„ds 

po.„„„„  .„„,a  c*i ;:  *;;r:  r:  "ir  s  .r  '""■  -"' 

be  carried  on,  it  is  true  in  the  nam„.    f  ""  litigation  would 

Ohio  and  the'purchaserLt  lunl  T'^'^'^ '''^'^  '''  ''^^^  ^^' 
and  the  Union.  But  what  wLd  h.  '  T.  ""'  '"  '^'^  "'^'"^'^  '''  ^^o 
eral  purchaser  w.  eonfirlTt'  ht^^t  ^tl"'^  '"^^'^'  ^'  ^'^^  ^^^■ 
whilst  the  other  competitor  was  order  d  to  taL^  ""^  ''  ''''  ^"•«"' 
of  the  State  of  Ohio  ?  ^°  possession  by  the  tribanala 


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214 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


the  affections  and  the  prejudices  of  the  people.  The  sov- 
ereignty of  the  Union  is  an  abstract  being,  which  is  con- 
nected with  but  few  external  objects;  the  sovereignty  of 
the  States  is  perceptible  by  the  senses,  easily  understood, 
and  constantly  active.  The  former  is  of  recent  creation, 
the  latter  is  coeval  with  the  people  itself.  The  sovereignty 
of  the  Union  is  factitious,  that  of  the  States  is  natural  and 
self-existent,  without  effort,  like  the  authority  of  a  parent. 
The  sovereignty  of  the  nation  affects  a  few  of  the  chief 
interests  of  society ;  it  represents  an  immense  but  remote 
country,  a  vague  and  ill-defined  sentiment.  The  authority 
of  the  States  controls  every  individual  citizen  at  every 
hour  and  in  all  circumstances  ;  it  protects  his  property,  his 
"reedom,  and  his  life ;  it  affects  at  every  moment  his  well- 
being  or  his  misery.  When  we  recollect  the  traditions, 
the  customs,  the  prejudices  of  local  and  familiar  attachment 
with  which  it  is  connected,  we  cannot  doubt  the  superiority 
of  a  power  which  rests  on  the  instinct  of  patriotism  so  nat- 
ural to  the  human  heart. 

Since  legislators  cannot  prevent  such  dangerous  collis- 
ions as  occur  between  the  two  sovereignties  which  coexist 
in  the  federal  system,  their  first  object  must  be,  not  only 
to  dissuade  the  confederate  states  from  warfare,  but  to 
encourage  such  dispositions  as  lead  to  peace.  Hence  it  is 
that  the  federal  compact  cannot  be  lasting  unless  there 
exist  in  the  communities  which  are  leasued  together  a 
certam  number  of  inducements  to  union  which  render  their 
common  dependence  agreeable,  and  the  task  of  the  govern- 
ment light.  The  federal  system  cannot  succeed  without 
the  presence  of  favorable  circumstances  added  to  the  in- 
fluence of  good  laws.  All  the  nations  which  have  ever 
formed  a  confederation  have  been  held  together  by  some 
common  interests,  which  served  as  the  intellectual  ties  of 
association. 

But  men  have  sentiments  and  principles,  as  well  as  mate- 


sepj 


ns 


THE  FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  216 

ial  interests.     A  certain  uniformity  of  civilization  i.  n  ♦ 
difference  between  the  fifteenth  nn^  .1,       •  *^'® 

ihe  circumstance  which  nintA=  ,v  x  . 

Federal  o-nvp^rv,     *  •     a        .  ^*  ^^^3^  *<>  maintain  a 

language,  but  that  they  are  also  arrivlrf.*  ?^  " 

of  civilization ;  which  almost  !t  f         '*"'  ''^ 

,-n»ll  .A-^  ?  "'^  ""y  European  nation,  howeve, 

rit„r         .      .     '^""'™™  people,  which  occupies  a  ter- 
ntory  as  extensive  as  one  half  of  Eurone      Thr,!-! 
from  Maitio  tn  f„„_  •    •      1  '-'"rope,     itie  distance 

thr^-ff  t^^o'^g'^  «  about  one  thousand  miles-  but 
the  difference  between  the  civilisation  of  Maine  ^d  tb^t  nf 
Georgia  .s  slighter  than  the  difference  between    he  hl^ 

empire,  l^Sl^rlrlj^:^' ■:Z'^''-  "' 1^"'^' 
confederation  than  Normld/  l"t Z:  wMet™  " 
separated  only  by  a  brobk.  ^'      '""''    °'"^ 

The  geographical  position  of  the  country  increased  the 
fac.ht.es  wh,ch  the  American  legislators  derived  frot!    b 
manners  and  customs  of  the  inhabitants    a^it  if  to  tw! 
c.rcumsta„ee  that  the  adoption  and  the  ^aintelee  of  he 
Federal  system  are  mainly  attributable.  "" 

Xhe  most  important  occurrence  in  tho  llfc    f 

«  the  breaking  out  of  a  war  Tw»r  ,      "  """''" 

s        "I  a  war.    Jn  war,  a  people  act  aa  one 


'  ! 


2W 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


man  against  foreign  nations,  in  defence  of  their  very  ex- 
istence.    The  skill  of  the  government,  the  good  sense  of 
the  community,  and  the  natural  fondness  which  men  al- 
most always  entertain  for  their  country,  may  be  enough,  as 
long  as  the  only  object  is  to  maintain  peace  in  the  interior 
of  the  state,  and  to  favor  its  internal  prosperity ;  but  that 
the  nation  may  carry  on  a  great  war,  the  people  must  make 
more  numerous  and  painful  sacrifices  ;  and  to  suppose  that 
a  great  number  of  men  will,  of  their  own  accord,  submit 
to  these  exigencies,  is  to  betray  an  ignorance  of  human 
nature.     All  the  nations  which  have  been  obliged  to  sus- 
tain a  long  and  serious  warfare  have  consequently  been  led 
to  augment  the  power  of  their  government.     Those  who 
have  not  succeeded  in  this  attempt  have  been  subjugated. 
A  long  war  almost  always  reduces  nations  to  the  wretched 
alternative  of  being  abandoned  to  ruin  by  defeat,  or  to  des- 
potism by  success.     War  therefore  renders  the  weakness 
of  a  government  most  apparent  and  most  alarming ;  and 
I  have  shown  that  the  inherent  defect  of  federal  govern- 
ments is  that  of  beinor  weak. 

The  federal  system  not  only  has  no  centralized  adminis- 
tration, and  nothing  which  resembles  one,  but  the  central 
government  itself  is  imperfectly  organized,  which  is  always 
a  great  cause  of  weakness  when  the  nation  is  opposed  to 
other  countries  which  are  themselves  governed  by  a  single 
authority.  In  the  Federal  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  where  the  central  government  has  more  real  force 
than  in  any  other  confederation,  this  evil  is  still  extremely 
sensible.     A  single  example  will  illustrate  the  case. 

The  Constitution  confers  upon  Congress  the  rio-ht  of 
"  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  Union, 
mppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions  " ;  and  another 
article  declares  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  is 
the  commander-in-chief  of  the  militia.  In  the  war  of 
1812,  the  President  ordered  the  miHtia  of  the  Northern 


•>»»»'ii»^<*«Mte^|WWii<>8>i«ii^M.-«^^^^^ 


THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION. 


refused  to  obo;  th  on^^rr  IT  """"'^''  ''^  ««'  -"• 
"itution  authorizes  ZTlJ':!  ^^'^  *"  "•«  ^on- 
*e  militia  in  ease  of  i„^'^-  So™™"'^"'  to  call  forth 

present  instance,  there ^^^iT"- '""*"''  ''■"  '"  ""' 
tion.     They  added  that  2  r.'"™'""  ""'  '""<"^ 

ferred  upon"  he  uL^  hf  rirrf^r'^'r  "'"■""  ''''- 
active  service,  reserved  to  ttsL^TZ'lf  ""''"  '^ 
officers ;  and  consequently  ra,  thl        j  """"'"8  *« 

no  officer  of  the  Union  hi  ^  "»'l«'^'ood  the  clause) 
■nilifa,  even  dulg":  "  eiXf  M  """"^""^  *« 
and  in  this  case,  they  w  rl  M  r^^f^""™'  ■'"  P-""-" 
"anded  by  another  individuT  Th .  T  '?  """^  ™-"- 
cious  doctrines  received  hT!  J  ^""""^  '"<•  P«™i- 
ernprs  a„d  the  ieSe'trrrir Jl*^^  «- 

quired.*  elsewhere  the  troops  which  it  re- 

anthr.tr;j:^,:t ';i*f  ^--•-  ^"--•••. 

the  occurrence  of  a  ^::twar?   TtW"  '''""'''  ''^ 
great  wars  to  fear.     Placed  fn  ,^  ""^•^'  "  ""^  "» 

*  Kent's  Commentaries,  Vol.  I    n  944      t  u 
'vhuh  relates  to  a  time  long  after  the  nror!; ,      •  '''"'*"''  "^^   ^^^'np'e 

^-     I^  I  had  gone  baclT  to  t  eXTr^l  '''•  ^'^^^"^  ^--•- 
g'ven  still  more  striking  instances.     tL  wh' L^H  "'  '  '"'^'*  ''-« 

«tate  of  enthusiastic  excitement  •  the  rZ.  !  "  """^  "*  '^''  ^'"^  i°  a 

Who  was  the  idol  of  the  peopl :  '  f;  ""  ""  "^''^^  ^^  «  ™- 
«ay  the  truth,  no  resources  at  al  at  ts  dit  T'^f""''  ^'""^''^  ^<  to 
perpetually  .anting.  The  bestde  isTd  p  1  el  ,  T ^^  T'  ^"^P"-  -- 
«he  Union,  constantly  on  the  verge  rfderuedol  "  '''  ^^""'''">'  -'^ 
ae«  Of  ,ts  enemies  far  more  thanT,  iJ^Z:^''  ^^^  ''^  ^^^^  -ak. 


I  <l 


I.. 


218 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


tains  only  a  million  of  inhabitants,  and  its  population  is  di- 
vided into  two  inimical  nations.  The  rigor  of  tlie  climate 
limits  the  extension  of  its  territory,  and  shuts  up  its  ports 
during  the  six  months  of  winter.  From  Canada  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  a  few  savage  tribes  are  to  be  met  with, 
which  retire,  perishing  in  tlieir  retreat,  before  six  thousand 
soldiers.  To  the  south,  the  Union  has  a  point  of  contact 
with  the  empire  of  Mexico ;  and  it  is  thence  that  serious 
hostilities  may  one  day  be  expected  to  arise.  But  for  a 
long  while  to  come,  the  uncivilized  state  of  the  Mexican 
people,  the  depravity  of  their  morals,  and  their  extreme 
poverty,  will  prevent  that  country  from  ranking  high 
amongst  nations.  As  for  the  powers  of  Europe,  they  are 
too  distant  to  be  formidable.* 

The  great  advantage  of  the  United  States  does  not,  then, 
consist  in  a  Federal  Constitution  which  allows  them  to 
carry  on  great  wars,  but  in  a  geographical  position  which 
renders  such  Avars  extremely  improbable. 

No  one  can  be  more  inclined  than  I  am  to  appreciate  the 
advantages  of  the  Federal  system,  which  I  hold  to  be  one 
of  the  combinations  most  favorable  to  the  prosperity  and 
freedom  of  man.  I  envy  the  lot  of  those  nations  which 
have  been  able  to  adopt  it ;  but  I  cannot  believe  that  any 
confederate  people  could  maintain  a  long  or  an  equal  con- 
test with  a  nation  of  similar  strength  in  which  the  gov- 
ernment is  centralized.  A  people  which  should  divide  its 
sovereignty  into  fractional  parts,  in  the  presence  of  the 
great  military  monarchies  of  Europe,  would,  in  my  opin- 
ion, by  that  very  act  abdicate  its  power,  and  perhaps  its 
existence  and  its  name.  But  such  is  the  admirable  posi- 
tion of  the  New  World,  that  man  has  no  other  (memy  than 
himself;  and  that,  in  order  to  be  happy  and  to  be  free,  ha 
has  only  to  determine  that  he  will  be  so. 

*  See  Appendix  O. 


THE  PEOi-LE  GOVERN  IN  THE   UNITED  STATES. 


219 


OHAPTEK    IX. 

TCL*'s/,  '•T  ««"""«•  the  inseitutiom  of  the 
vt,?„r'ha™l;eL'e7r-^  the.  .egis..io„  inZ 
society  in  that  oJ^^^'l^lZTZ  """!•  "'■  '"''''''' 
beyond  all  these  charaet:^ L  tl  "1:^':':°"'  '"" 
power— that  of  the  people —  wmT  j  sovereign 

ify  them  at  it,  pleasurr  TtT.  "T  ''''"■"^  "■•  ""«'- 

manner  this  power  :„peri'   to  XT  ''"""  '"  "''"* 

instinct,  »n/-.        ^P™""^  to  tlie  laws,  acts ;  what  are  its 

effects  of  its  ^'^^.n.T.^j^.^'^t :zr;i:'z'''' 

which  IS  reserved  for  it.  ^^^^^^^ 

HOW   IT  CAN  BE  STHICTLY  SAID  THAT  THE   PEOPLE  GOVEKN 
IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.  GOVERN 

exel"  H  ";t;;tr£s7r  •  '"^  '^^''"'™  ™^  "'^ 

fractions  of  thrC"      t"  tslCr  '''^  '""''''  ""  ■""- 
only  in  their  principle  but  ill     t    •    """  <''='"'""^"'<''  "ot 

evident  thif  V       •  •    S^^^'""^^"*  ^«  representative,  it  is 

eTeX:::t:sTr'p  ;,:tl3 "  i  r-"^^-  -' 

nent  obstacles  .o»  exeS'^  T^l^^^  tZ— 


i!.'*''^l|]i 


220 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMFRICA. 


the  daily  conduct  of  affairs.  In  the  United  States,  the 
majority  governs  in  the  name  of  tlie  people,  as  is  th(3  case 
in  all  countries  in  which  the  people  are  supreme.  This 
majority  is  principally  composed  of  peaceable  citizens,  who, 
either  by  inclination  or  by  interest,  sincerely  wish  the  wel- 
fare of  their  countrj.  But  they  are  surrounded  by  the 
incessant  agitation  of  parties,  who  attempt  to  gain  their 
co-operation  and  support. 


iWtil»ia.Mttiiiii*iinniiMWifeyJ>iu«<»i«« 


I'AKTIES  IN  THE   UNITED  STATES. 


221 


II ' 


CHAPTER   X. 

PARTIKS  11,  THE   UOTTED  STATES. 

Oml  Di.iinoion  to  be  modo  between  P«nl..       t.     . 

other  ^  rival  N«ien.._prZ  „^"T~'^'""* '""*  «™  «>  "^I. 

•ween  great  and  .mall  Par,,^r-F.»,T  I't  ™''°'--'"*'»°'»  >- 
Ch^acteri.tica.-Ameririr.f'^  '"'"'''■  P"''"" ''""••-Their 
F».er.li„.._„,pJ,::  ,1-„''^J^»' ^^^^^^^ 

opting  Partie.  i„  „,.  United  We.      t.  »'™'"''^ '>'' 

tion._A,i.,.era.ie  or  vZTjTaTT       '  ''°°°  "'"■  ""^  '»«"• 

««•  -  s".  ..e  Of  Gene^-s:  n^rt-r  ;r ' ""  '■■  ■"  ^"- 

P^-perly  be  considered  as  d  Zt  L^^'t' ""^ '"""' 
parties  ,•  and  if  a  civil  .rar  U^^Ltl       '^'''",  "^  '"'^^ 

-  on.,  ..aisles  ..,e/.t  t'^rilCC 

::rcrjid  ITS'- r  .^^'^^^^^^^^^^ 

fi«  governments  ^blr;i,/,  "■'  *  ""="''^'7  «"'  i" 

cHaf  er  and  t 'sat  tZ^^  "  ""  '""^  "'«  ^ 

-«-"  periods,  a  nation  „ay  be  oppressed  by  such 


I    I 


ttfli 


;| 

i  : 
1  : 

■M  ! 

"    ! 

•i.jj  ^ 

i 

f 

^ 

222 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


insupportable  evils  as  to  conceive  the  design  of  effecting  a 
total  change  in  their  political  constitution  ;  at  other  times, 
the  mischief  hes  still  deeper,  and  the  existence  of  society 
itself  is  endangered.  Such  are  the  times  of  great  revolu- 
tions and  of  great  parties.  But  between  these  epochs  of 
misery  and  confusion  there  are  periods  during  which  hu- 
man society  seems  to  rest,  and  mankind  to  take  breath. 
Tliis.  pause  is,  indeed,  only  apparent ;  for  time  does  not  stop 
its  course  for  nations  any  more  than  for  men  ;  they  are  all 
advancing  every  day  towards  a  goal  with  which  they  are 
unacquainted.  We  imagine  them  to  be  stationary  only 
when  their  progress  escapes  our  observation,  as  men  who 
are  going  at  a  foot-pace  seem  to  be  standing  still  to  those 
who  run. 

But  however  this  may  be,  there  are  certain  epochs  at 
which  the  changes  that  take  place  in  the  social  and  politi- 
cal constitution  of  nations  are  so  slow  and  insensible,  that 
men  imagine  they  have  reached  a  final  state  ;  and  the 
human  mind,  believing  itself  to  be  firmly  based  upon  sure 
foundations,  does  not  extend  its  researches  beyond  a  cer- 
tain horizon.  These  are  the  times  of  small  parties  and  of 
intrigue. 

The  political  parties  which  I  style  great  are  those  which 
cling  to  principles  rather  than  to  their  consequences  ;  to 
general,  and  not  to  special  cases ;  to  ideas,  and  not  to 
men.  These  parties  are  usually  distinguished  by  nobler 
features,  more  generous  passions,  more  genuine  convic- 
tions, and  a  more  bold  and  open  conduct,  than  the  others. 
In  them,  private  interest,  which  always  plays  the  chief 
part  in  political  passions,  is  more  studiously  veiled  under 
the  pretext  of  the  public  good  ;  and  it  may  even  be  some- 
times concealed  from  the  eyes  of  the  very  persons  whom  it 
excites  and  impels. 

Minor  parties,  on  the  other  hand,  are  generally  deficient 
in  political  good  faith.     As  they  are  not  sustained  or  digni- 


PARTIES  IN  THE   DOTTED  STATES.  228 

fied  by  loftjr  purposes,  they  ostensiH^  ,i;    i      .i 
ness  of  their  character  in  ^,  ".'"'""P'^  ''"P'ay  the  selfish, 
a  factitious  .eal  7^   an!  1" -"""'i     ''"'"'^  «•<>-  -'"' 
conduct  is  ti,„id  and    r    ,olu  f  V      '""' '   ■""  '''"•' 

-P%  are  as  wretched  Ltt  e^^^TT  r'^"''  *«^ 
Hence   it   h„ppe„,    ,,,„.    „,,""'  ^""^  *'  »''"cl>  they  aim. 

Holent  revolu  i™  ;  r;.:^'™  "  "''"  """'  ^^-"•'s  a 
•nd  the  powe.  of  CLZn  S  t  r™'^  '"  '''"P^'' 
ciety  is  convulsed  by  cnw  ^  •  "^  concealed.  So- 
minor  ones;  it^s  ta-n^bTtr T'  "  "  ""'^  "^''^cd  by 
degraded;  and  if  tl  Lf  sott  "'  '^  ""  '""»  '»  ^ 
perturbation,  the  last  invtriaTyTtlT:  "  "'  "  "'"'^■^ 

America  has  had  ,ren,  Tf-      I     ,  "  '"  ""  «<«"•  end. 
and  if  her  happinl ir  LXl    1  '"1  ."■^■"  ""  '""«-' 
momlity  has  suffered.      wtVZ  K'""^'^'^'^'' 

was  terminated,  and  the  1^1^;  "^  ■"''''P-<'™ce 
ment  were  to  be  laid  down    the  1,-  "7  «°™™- 

tween  two  opinions  -tZ         •         °"  """^  ''"'ded  be- 

tl.e  world,  a„d^vlh~prplT^1'"''  ''"  ^'  "'''  "» 
different  forms  and  yaril™  ^!^  '°  "^^^  -'  -"■■  -der 

-the  one  tending  to  limit  the  li'     .  communities, 

the  power  of  the  peop  e      r^,!      ''«  "  T"'^  indefinitely, 
opinions  neyer  assnm«   Ihafd  T  ^"''™  "'^^^  'w° 

which  it  has  frequenTy  diit  Tt  .  *""'  '"  ^""'™'' 
of  the  Americans  tie  TS  !  "T-  ^'•*  P""- 
points  ,.  and  neither  oHheTh!,  T".  ""  ""•*'  '=^'™"''l 
tution,  or  to  oyerthrow  the  Tt  ^  t"™^  ^  °"  "onsti- 
'ri^pl..     In  ne'^lr  of  L         "^      ""'''''^' '"  """^^  '" 

but  moral  principles  'fit-  ft  ^-^  ™ceess  or  defeat: 
equality  and  of  iLl.  .  ^^  °"'"'''  ™'=''  ■«  *«  loye  „f 
struggK  and  tfese  sut  ,  tolinT  -T"^™^  ■"   *"" 

The  party  which   des'ed   to   t^!  7.      '  ""''""'• 
people,  endeayored  to  apl  i^  aT-  **  P"^*"-  "^  *e 

-«.eCo„.«tutionoft^'^C""rceTde:a 


H 


224 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


name  of  Federal.  The  otlier  party,  wliich  affected  to  be 
exclusively  attached  to  the  ciiiise  of  liberty,  took  that  of 
liepuhlican.  America  is  the  land  of  democracy,  and  the 
Federalists,  therefore,  were  always  in  a  minority  ;  but  they 
reckoned  on  their  side  almost  all  the  great  men  whom  the 
war  of  independence  had  produced,  and  their  moral  power 
was  very  considerable.  Their  cause  was,  moreover,  favored 
by  circumstances.  The  ruin  of  the  first  Confederation  had 
impressed  the  people  with  a  dread  of  anarchy,  and  the 
Federalists  profited  by  this  transient  disposition  of  the  mul- 
titude. For  ten  or  twelve  years,  they  were  at  the  head  of 
affairs,  and  they  were  able  to  apply  some,  though  not  all, 
of  their  principles ;  for  the  hostile  current  was  becoming 
from  day  to  day  too  violent  to  be  checked.  In  1801,  the 
Republicans  got  possession  of  the  government:  Thomas 
Jefferson  was  elected  President ;  and  he  increased  the  in- 
fluence of  their  party  by  the  weight  of  his  great  name,  the 
brilliancy  of  his  talents,  and  his  immense  popularity. 

The  means  by  which  the  Federalists  had  maintained 
their  position  were  artificial,  and  their  resources  were  tem- 
porary :  it  was  by  the  virtues  or  the  talents  of  their  leaders, 
as  well  as  by  fortunate  circumstances,  that  they  had  risen 
to  power.  When  the  Republicans  attained  that  station  in 
their  turn,  their  opponents  were  overwhelmed  by  utter 
defeat.  An  immense  majority  declared  itself  against  the 
retiring  party,  and  the  FederaUsts  found  themselves  in  so 
small  a  minority,  that  they  at  once  despaired  of  future  suc- 
cess. From  that  moment,  the  Republican  or  Democratic 
party  has  proceeded  from  conquest  to  conquest,  until  it  has 
acquired  absolute  supremacy  in  the  country.  The  Fed- 
eralists, perceiving  that  they  were  vanquished  without  re- 
source, and  isolated  in  the  midst  of  the  nation,  fell  into  two 
divisions,  of  which  one  joined  the  victorious  Republicans, 
and  the  other  laid  down  their  banners  and  changed  their 
name.  Many  years  have  elapsed  since  they  wholly  c(;ased 
to  exist  as  a  party. 


PARTES  m  THE   UNITED  STATES.  5J2S 

The  accession  of  the  PcdcralUt,  t„ 
opinion,  one  of  the  most  fort,  *°,^'""'  «■»■'.  in  my 

panied  the  formation  "f  ,t       *!  T"''""  "■'"^''  "^™"'- 

"•"ir  age.     But  whether  tlfeir     I  •  '  """""^  ""^ 

"■ey  had  the  fi.„It  „f  Te'w  „„  ''^,7  ''''°  ^'^  "  '«''• 
society  which  they  Sd  to"!o  '  "'  V^"^"'  ">  ""> 
occurred  under  the  a„ sj  es  "f  TP'  """  """  "'''^'' 
'-«  taken  place  sooner'  rl.tr  BurtI  ""'  "'"*" 
at  least  gave  tlie  new  reDuhHlr  ""■  g°™'-nn>ent 

stability,  and  afterwal  to t^p^wi'tt  7"''"'  "  ^"'»'" 
the  rapid  growth  of  fl,«      '"PP«^  *  without  inconvenience 

oomhat:,,.  ^A"ctn:Le:h;L^r:;  r-  "-^^ " 

moreover,  were  embodied  »t  l!!.  •  ,  ''°"'  P""C'Ples, 
their  opponent.;  andXpe,.:  r  tV:.'"-',--"  of 
sists  at  the  present  dav  !,  i  '""'"«>'''  ^"J.ich  sub- 
patriotism  and  the"r  tliom  "        '"^  '"™™^"'  »'  *-> 

".ay  be  found  ;:„■  ZeZ'VT:  ""T'"^'  ''''^' 
but  there  am  none  which  stem  t"  ^  ^^  ""  ^"'°"  ' 
of  goven,ment,  or  the  pZnt  '^  *e  present  form 

parties  by  which  the  Unir T,  ""!  "^  "^'^'y-     The 

P-ncipIes!  but  npo:  tli  ~  %",:'  '■^'  "''- 
constitute,  in  the  different  nrov.-r  7'  ^^  '"'^'®«ts 
rival  nations  ...her  Tan  'Irfe  t1"'"'  ""  ''"'^^''' 
occasion  [1832],  the  Nortlf  contended  for  T"  "  '"""' 
commercial  prohibition  »n^  T  S  ,  *"  "y^"™  of 
favor  of  free  tn.de    iZrb!  ^'J  '""'''  "P  ^^  ■" 

t-ing  and  the  strafa^  Xnll  "*  '  "  ""'"'^''- 
restrictive  system  whl.l.  ^™'""»'  commumty ;  and  the 

prejudicial  IZ  oTht     ""  ^ """"^  '»  "^  -«-  was 

With  w  :rveS.''::r  t-^-^'- -^  ^--  -™ 

-a  thousand  mi„rhrof'S:enr:;„;„S 


226 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


of  detail.  The  pains  which  are  taken  to  create  parties  are 
inconceivable,  and  at  the  present  day  it  is  no  easy  task. 
In  the  United  States.,  there  is  no  religious  animosity,  be- 
cause all  religion  is  respected,  and  no  sect  is  predominant ; 
there  is  no  jealousy  of  rank,  because  the  people  are  every- 
thing, and  none  can  contest  their  authority ;  lastly,  there  is 
no  public  misery  to  serve  as  a  means  of  agitation,  because 
tlie  physical  position  of  the  country  opens  so  wide  a  field 
to  industry,  that  man  only  needs  to  be  let  alon^j  to  be  able 
to  accomplish  prodigies.  Nevertheless,  ambitious  men  will 
succeed  in  creating  parties,  since  ic  is  difficilt  to  eject  a 
person  from  authority  upon  the  mere  ground  that  his  place 
is  coveted  by  others.  All  the  skill  of  the  actors  in  the 
political  world  lies  in  the  art  of  creating  parties.  A  polit- 
ical aspirant  in  the  United  States  bo^gins  by  discerning  his 
own  interest,  and  discovering  those  other  interests  which 
may  be  collected  around,  and  amalgamated  with  it.  He 
ihen  contrives  to  find  out  some  doctrine  or  principle  which 
may  suit  the  purposes  of  this  new  association,  and  which 
he  adopts  in  order  to  bring  forward  his  party  and  secure  its 
popularity :  just  as  the  imprimatur  of  the  king  was  in  for- 
mer days  printed  upon  the  title-page  of  a  volume,  and  was 
thus  incorporated  with  a  book  to  which  it  in  no  wise  be- 
longed. This  being  done,  the  new  party  is  ushered  into 
the  political  world. 

All  the  domestic  controversies  of  the  Americans  at  first 
appear  to  a  stranger  to  be  incomprehensible  or  puerile,  and 
he  is  at  a  loss  whether  to  pity  a  people  who  take  such  ar- 
rant trifles  in  good  earnest,  or  to  envy  that  happiness  which 
enables  a  community  to  discuss  them.  But  when  he  comes 
to  study  the  secret  propensities  which  govern  the  factions 
of  America,  he  easily  perceives  that  the  greater  part  of 
them  are  more  or  less  connected  with  one  or  the  other  of 
those  two  great  divisions  which  ha'/e  always  existed  in  fi:ee 
(Communities.     The  deeper  we  penetrate  into  the  inmost 


'■^«™s  m  THE  vmjBO  STATES. 


.,  ,  ^    "''  SPATES.  097 

"■ought  of  these  parties  tl.»  , 

object  of  tJ,e  „„e  TX^^rJ"  ""  P«^^^'™  «>»*  the 

•end,  the  ,ut,,oritv  of  .^^ 'l'",''  ""f  "^  ">«  o«her  to  e^! 

ostensible  purposef  ^  Jt      |:^.,  '  '"  ""'  '^^  *«  tte 
'c.™  parties  is  ,„  ;»  ""'  "  e  secret  aim,  of  Ame.. 

"•oe-ey  in  „,«  00..',;  Ifj    "'^  of  aristocae^  or  cle- 
democratic  passions  may  eal  I,  """  "^t^.ratic  or 

»f  «"!  parties,  and  tl,at,  a!  h  thV""'"'  *"  *^  ''««'»" 
otervation,  they  are  the  n  „  n„-  ^  T"^^  *  '"Pe'^icial 
"on  in  the  United  States  """'  ""'  '"'^  "^  every  fte- 

-taclrthe  Brr'.rc?„n.:r^''^"  ^-*"'  ■'aei.son 
were  fo^ed;  the  ^1^3  T  ""'r"'  ='"''  P""- 
T'ank,  the  common  people  round  trp""'"^  '»"»<'  "'« 
must  not  be  imaoined  tl,,,  1        ^  "'°  President.     But  it 
Jn.-on  upon  a  ^'t^,  'X  ''»"  '""^'^  ^  -.iona' 
he  most  experienced  stat^mef     u  """^  '''■*^"'"'<'^  '» 
Bank  .s  a  g„at  establishmr  liH   i;  ""  '""''"'■     ^he 
existence  ;  and  tl.e  people    "      .  '^  ""  'ndependeut 
make  whatsoever  thev  tI      ^''''"''"'nied  to  make  and  un 
*tacle  to  their  aS^Tthr 'f  '"  '"^«'  -"■  «^ 
fl»et«ation  of  society,  i,  eomm     ^'"'-"'^  "'«  P^Tetnal 
permanent  an  institu&„  and  H  ^^  ^  "  '™'"'^  "^^  ^° 
to  see  whether  it  can  be  shaken  ,ik     '"  T''  ■'•  '"  ""ler 

snaken.  like  everything  else. 

KBMAIN3    OF    thp    ,„,„_ 

THE    AEISTOCBATIC    PAKTT  ,N  T„p    ,^ 

STATES.  ^    raiTED 

Secret  Oppo.fti„„  of  wcM.  i„,.  ., 

■nent- Their  T   .   ,    '  '"■'""■'nah  to  Democracv      ti.  • 

_,       -ilieir  Taatwforexclufiii-B  PI  ™'^- —  Their  Retim. 

It  sometimes  hamer^^  ,« 
opinions  preva,-l,  that  the  LanCof  ''""'"^'  "■■»""  ^"""n' 

--- -- «n  ir^istlr;:-- tx^^^^^^ 


228 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


all  obstacles,  annihilates  its  opponents,  and  appropriates  all 
the  resources  of  society  to  its  own  use.  The  vanquished 
despair  of  success,  hide  their  heads,  and  are  silent.  The 
nation  seems  to  be  governed  by  a  single  principle,  univer- 
sal stillness  prevails,  and  the  prevailing  party  assumes  the 
credit  of  having  restored  peace  and  unanimity  to  the  coun- 
try. But  under  this  apparent  unanimity  still  exist  pro- 
found differences  of  opinion,  and  real  opposition. 

This  is  what  occurred  in  America ;  when  the  democratic 
party  got  the  upper  hand,  it  took  exclusive  possession  of 
tlie  conduct  of  affairs,  and  from  that  time,  the  laws  and  the 
customs  of  society  have  been  adapted  to  its  caprices.     At 
the  present  day,  the  more  affluent  classes  of  society  have 
no  influence  in  political  affairs  ;  and  wealth,  far  fi-om  con- 
ferring a  right,  is  rather  a  cause  of  unpopularity  than  a 
means  of  attaining  power.     The  rich  abandon  the  lists, 
through  unwillingness  to  contend,  and  frequently  to  con- 
tend in  vain,  against  the  poorer  classes  of  their  fellow-citi- 
zens.    As  they  cannot  occupy  in  public  a  position  equiva- 
lent to  what  they  hold  in  private  life,  they  abandon  the 
former,  and  give  themselves  up  to  the  latter;   and  they 
constitute  a  private  society  in  the  state,  which  has  its  own 
tastes  and  pleasures.     They  submit  to  this  state  of  things 
as  an  irremediable  evil,  but  they  are  careful  not  to  show 
that  they  are  galled  by  its  continuance ;  one  often  hears 
them  laud  the  advantages  of  a  republican  government  and 
democratic  institutions  when  they  are  in  public.     Next  to 
hating  their  enemies,  men  are  most  inclined  to  flatter  them. 
Mark,  for  instance,  that  opulent  citizen,  who  is  as  anx- 
ious as  a  Jew  of  the  Middle  Ages  to  conceal  his  wealth. 
His  dress  is  plain,  his  demeanor  unassuming  ;  but  the  in- 
terior of  his  dwelling  glitters  with  luxury,  and  none  but  a 
few  chosen  guests,  whom  he  haughtily  styles  his  equals,  are 
allowed  to  penetrate  into  this  sanctuary.     No  European 
noble  is  more  exclusive  in  his  pleasures,  or  more  jealous  of 


P^MIES  m  THE  miKD  STATES. 


- w.  229 

Buvrr  r^:;«  ?r'r  ---  --- 

"•"y  accost  him  who  pleales       T^f  '  ''^"^  "^-^  »"« 
npon  the  way,  thev  stnn  7  a  ^  """"^  ''"  cobbler 

f--  the  ai^air/;;'  i/^tte'^r  ■  .J'"^  '"■"  ^'"-'» 
they  part.  *'^'*'  ^'^  ^hajce  hands  before 

o-t*:r  tf:h:TS^^^^^  -'  *-<>  *»^- 

Perceivethat  the  rich  hT    \      '^  P"^"'' ''  '^  «a»y  to 

-tic  -tit„tio„."ofarc:o'tr^'^*  -^^^o-- 

power  which  they  at  once  I  ^i'  .  '^  ^^^P'^  f"™  a 
a<imi„istn.tion  of  the  del  ""''  """^P'^^-  ^^  tl.e  mal- 
'«"-ona^  crisis,  and'^trS  iZ'?^  "•»"'  "  -- 


'r.K 


UiS    ■ 


'r    I 


,    -'Ifin, 


s*fc'ri<4«M*aaitts5irj6Mifc 


280 


DEMOCBACY  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

UBERTY  OF  THE  PRESS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

DiflScuIty  of  restraining  the  Liberty  of  the  Press.  —  Particular  llcaaon« 
which  some  Nations  have  for  cherishing  this  Liberty.  —  The  Liberty 
of  the  Press  a  necessary  Consequence  of  the  Sovereignty  of  the  People 
as  it  is  understood  in  America.  —  Violent  Language  of  the  Periodical 
Press  in  the  United  States.  —  The  Periodical  Press  has  some  peculiar 
Instincts,  proved  by  the  Example  of  the  United  States.  —  Opinion  of 
tlie  Americans  upon  the  Judicial  Repression  of  the  Abuses  of  the  Press 
—  Why  the  Press  is  less  powerful  in  America  than  in  Franco. 

THE  influence  of  the  liberty  of  the  press  does  not  affect 
political  opinions  alone,  but  extends  to  all  the  opinions 
of  men,  and  modifies  customs  as  well  as  laws.  Ih  another 
part  of  this  work,  I  shall  attempt  to  determine  the  degree 
of  influence  which  the  liberty  of  the  press  has  exercised 
upon  civil  society  in  the  United  States,  and  to  point  out 
the  direction  which  it  has  given  to  the  ideas,  as  well  as  the 
tone  which  it  has  imparted  to  the  character  and  the  feel- 
ings, of  the  Anglo-Americans.  At  y)resent,  I  purpose  only 
to  examine  the  effects  produced  by  the  liberty  of  the  press 
in  the  political  world. 

1  confess  that.  I  do  not  entertain  that  firm  and  complete 
attachment  to  the  Hberty  of  the  press  which  is  wont  to  be 
excited  by  things  that  are  supremely  good  in  their  very 
nature.  I  approve  of  it  fi'om  a  consideration  more  of  the 
evils  it  prevents,  than  of  the  advantages  it  insures. 

If  any  one  could  point  out  an  intermediate  and  yet  a 
tenable  position  between  the  complete  independence  and 
the  entire  servitude  of  opinion,  I  should,  perhaps,  be  in- 


\r 


"BK«T.  OP  THE  r«..s  m  XH.  ™™  „,,,,      ^31 

clined  to  adopt  it ;  but  the  difficulty  i,  t„  ^• 

termediate  position.     IntendinTr  '^  '^""^^  *''  ""- 

you  fim  tVthe  «^:drty  a*v-;:  i7r^  "'"^''«- 

i"m,  the  opinion  which  was  tW^f         'f  the  jury  acquits 
comes  the  opinion  of  th^whl         "  ""«'"  '"^'"''"^  f-'- 

•^o  little  has  thereflbJnt  ""'"""■^-     ^'"'  """=''  »d 
-"•ng  the  deU„;^^C'';-;^„f*e.then.     You 

even  here,  the  cause  mbst  he  T^  iT  """Sistrates ;  but 
ed;  and  the  veJprTnctle,    t  .    ''^'■^  "'*  <=»"  ^^  ^ecid- 
ventu^d  to  ..oJZl^:j^^  Z  thf .  T"  '^^ 
what  was  obscurely  hinte<l  at    n  ,    "    .     l''<^*"g'.  "nd 
thus  repeated  in  a  mulZl^     ?  ""«'°  «<"nP«sition  is 
'anguage  is  only  ITt^^^tlT^fT'"-     ^^ 
the  body,  of  the  thoueht  but  it  i        .    ,       "^  '"  'P^'*) 
Tribunals  may  condemn  ftel      \"°\*'  "'""g'''  '"^^f- 
of  the  work  if  too  sSle  L  ,1f '•        '?'  '™'''  *^  ^P'™' 
ha.  sti,,  been  done  iti^d     toltt.r lo^^^^^    ^°°  --" 
you  must  go  still  farther.    Estab  sh    '    "'"""r"'  ™d  ; 
P>«s.    But  the  tongue  of  the      tr     "^"'"''^V  of  .he 
make  itself  heard,  afd  yl  !„!"       .^P"'^''-  «■«   ^>ill 

Plfehed;  you  have  only  i^^rei^PT  '•  T /''  ''"""'■ 
B  not,  like  physical  stren^rT  ,  """^"''^  thought 
of  its  agen..Vnor  caTSi'r"''™'  T"  *«  """ber 
which  compose  an  ar^r  Q"  -^  ""'"  '*'  *'  ''~P' 
of  a  principle  is  ottJ^^^'tC^^' ^^  """"'"'y 
men  by  whom  it  is  expres^d  T^'*^  T"^'  "™'''^'-  o*' 
minded  man,  addressed  [Hb.  "'°'''''  "''  ""^  'trong- 

%,  have  mjre  voZ'z:'^::^:!:^''^'.  ^'^- 

orators;  and  if  it  be  aUowp/f  ?  ''^  ^  thousand 

public  place,  the  co^e^nTeVlbfit'^,  k"  ""'  "'« 
mg  was  allowed  in  every  vUla^r  Z  ,1  *"^  'P'^"- 
must  therefore  be  destroVafwell  ^  t  T^  °' *^'^^''' 
">•«.    And  now  you  have  !         ,  ,  ^'^"^y  °f  'be 

d«.d  to  silence.   Tut  vlr  T"     '  ""^'^''^  ''  '^ 

'  your  object  was   to  repress  the 


^;1i,  I 


232 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


abuses  of  liberty,  and  you  are  brought  to  the  feet  of  a 
despot.  You  have  been  led  from  the  extreme  of  indepen- 
dence to  tlie  extreme  of  servitude,  without  finding  a  single 
tenable  j)osition  on  the  way  at  which  you  could  stop. 

There  are  certain  nations  which  have  peculiar  reasons 
for  cherishing  the  liberty  of  the  press,  independently  of 
the  general  motives  which  I  have  just  pointed  out.  For  in 
certain  countries  which  profess  to  be  free,  every  individual 
agent  of  the  government  may  violate  the  laws  with  impu- 
nity, since  the  constitution  does  not  give  to  those  who  are 
injured  a  right  of  complaint  before  the  courts  of  justice. 
In  this  case,  the  liberty  of  the  press  is  not  merely  one  of 
the  guaranties,  but  it  is  the  only  guaranty,  of  their  liberty 
and  security  which  the  citizens  possess.  If  the  rulers  of 
these  nations  proposed  to  abolish  the  independence  of  the 
press,  the  whole  people  might  answer,  Give  us  the  right 
of  prosecuting  your  offences  before  the  ordinary  tribunals, 
and  perhaps  we  may  then  waive  our  right  of  appeal  to 
the  tribunal  of  public  opinion. 

In  countries  where  the  doctrine  of  the  sovereignty  of  the 
people  ostensibly  prevails,  the  censorship  of  the  press  is  not 
only  dangerous,  but  absurd.  When  the  right  of  every  citi- 
zen to  a  share  in  the  government  of  society  is  acknowl- 
edged, every  one  must  be  presumed  to  be  able  to  choose 
between  the  various  opinions  of  his  contemporaries,  and  to 
appreciate  the  different  facts  from  which  inferences  may  be 
drawn.  The  sovereignty  of  the  people  and  the  liberty  of 
the  press  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  correlative  ;  just  as 
the  censorship  of  the  press  and  universal  suffrage  are  two 
Lhings  which  are  irreconcilably  opposed,  and  which  cannot 
long  be  retained  among  the  institutions  of  the  same  people. 
Not  a  single  individual  of  the  [thirty]  millions  who  inhabit 
the  United  States  has,  as  yet,  dared  to  propose  any  restric- 
tions on  the  liberty  of  the  press.  The  first  newspapei 
over  which  I  cast  my  eyes,  upon  my  arrival  in  America, 


contained  the  following  article  :  — 


prcscrvuHon  of  l,i,,  „,,„  „„.,^  "7"''/°  "'^  ""^-I-ieJ  with  tlj 

"""gue  will  ,o„f„u„a  ,4  „.  ck"'S7  •■."  "'"ive  oleraenl,  and 
"e  governs  by  mean-  of  ,.  '      ,.       ''"P'""  '"■»  of  his  power 
-H-dound  .o'  In;    a^e     7::";"""  "'^  '"""o™'  P.-^: 
Po'iti«.l  arena  ,,„,,  ^,„  ,,„  "'f  a"  l"""',    ""  """"''"'  '»  "'« 
»'-.    He  ,„cceeded  at  tl,e  le    ^  'T' f ''  »■"»  '-'-  ga„,e. 
Pr"»cl,es,and  he  will  be  obliCd  to  H  T""  "'^  ■^Wbution  ap. 

-Me  l.i»  fhbe  diee,a„d  to  e  d  ,  7,7^  "'"""'=»''°  "-» 
he  raay  curse  his  madness  at  IT  '"'"''  '■"™">en«,  where 
-«ne  with  „hich  his  hen tk  jr."'  "'\"'^''^-o  -  « 
quainted."  ''  "kely  lo  remain  forever  unac- 

Many  persons  in  Franco  .i  •  i     i 
P-s  originate,  inZZZm^rT  ""  "'"^"^''  "'  *» 
Po'if^J  passions,  .nitZoL^tJ"'""  T"'' '"  - 
which  consequently  prevails  •    "     •.        ,"«  °^  "neasiness 
tl.at,as  soon  as  sSw  '  ,"  "'<^'-»«'^«  ^"Pl'osed 

eomposun,,  .he  prea  t;  "aCdZ  t  "*  ""^"  ""^S^-  °'' 
Fof  my  own  part,  J  ,v„nU  "^°"  "?  P"^"*  vehemence, 
causes  the  extrlrdina,?^',^  jf  "S'^,  »'«l>ute  '»  these 

acquired  over  the  nation^  TuU  7  ^  T'',":''  *"  P'^  '-a^ 
exercise  much  influence '„„"  .,  """  """''  "'»'  *cy  do 
-I  P..SS  appears  t  me. ?C  '""!""««•  Tl.o  perfodi- 
"«  own,  independent  of  1  ™  '"^'""^  ""<*  "'^""cts  of 
placed;  and  the  pr^t  Itr""?*^"^'  '"  ^'"d.  it  is 
tl'fa  opinion.         "^         '  "'"*"™  »f  America  corroborate. 

"on;  but  the  press  is  „"?!  a  '"""  «"™^  «*•  ""olu- 
'her.  than  inV„  e  all  h  ."'T'™  '"  "'  P^-P'- 
without  thesa.„ereas;nrf„rlf'"T  «'«  ^™e  violence 

'"  F-nce,  it  const Z"  7  ^T"""-     '"  ^'»^"--  - 
-Po-ofmin,,.,„,:j"-f;-^^^^^^^ 


I  ': 


!l 


234 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


live  without  it,  and  public  order  can  hardly  be  maintained 
against  it.     Its  power  is  certainly  much  greater  in  France 
than  in  the  United  States ;  though  nothing  is  more  rare  in 
the  latter  country  than  to  hear  of  a  prosecution  being  insti- 
tuted against  it.     The  reason  of  this  is  perfectly  simple : 
the  Americans,  having  once  admitted  the  doctrine  of  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people,  apply  it  with  perfect  sincerity. 
It  was  never  their  intention  out  of  elements  which  are 
changing  every  day  to  create  institutions  which  should  last 
forever ;  and  there  is  consequently  nothing  criminal  in  an 
attack  upon  the  existing  laws,  provided  a  violent  infraction 
of  them  is  not  intended.     They  are  also  of  opinion  that 
courts  of  justice  are  powerless  to  check  the  abuses  of  the 
press ;  and  that,  as  the  subtilty  of  human  language  perpet- 
ually eludes  judicial  analysis,  offences  of  tliis  nature  some- 
how escape  the  hand  which  attempts  to  seize  them.     They 
hold  that,  to  act  with  efficacy  upon  the  press,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  find  a  tribunal,  not  only  devoted  to  the  exist- 
ing order  of  things,  but  capable  of  surmounting  the  influ- 
ence of  public  opinion ;  a  tribunal  which  should  conduct 
its  proceedings  without  publicity,  which  should  pronounce 
its  decrees  without  assigning  its  motives,  and  punish  the 
intentions,   even   more   than   the   language,   of 


a 


^    ^  .  writer. 

Whoever  should  be  able  to  create  and  maintain  a  tribu- 
nal of  this  kind,  would  waste  his  time  ui  prosecuting  the 
liberty  of  the  press ;  for  he  would  be  the  absolute  master 
of  the  whole  community,  and  would  be  as  free  to  rid  him- 
self of  the  authors  as  of  their  writings.  In  this  question, 
therefore,  there  is  no  medium  between  servitude  and 
Hcense ;  in  order  to  enjoy  the  inestimable  benefits  which 
the  liberty  of  the  press  insures,  it  is  necessary  to  submit  to 
the  inevitable  evils  which  it  creates.  To  expect  to  acquire 
the  former,  and  to  escape  the  latter,  is  to  cherish  one  of 
those  illusions  which  commonly  mislead  nations  in  their 
times  of  sickness,  when,  tired  with  faction  and  exhausted 


been  accustomed  tohZZl  !ff  "  T""'  "''"  '"™  "-" 
place  implicit  confidereTn  .  ffi't tr"'  T'"""  "'^'"• 
himself.     The  AnaI«.A  m„  •         i        ^""^  '''''o  Presents 

-  since  thet^I^-rritUr^''  *''  '"=*"^ 
press  cannot  create  l,„n„„  ,'"' '  """reover,  the 

•nay  kindie  themthertt  ^'i'T™-"-  ''"'""^  " 
life  is  active,  varied  evpn     T  !  ^  i  America,  poIiticaJ 

.those  deep  u^s  Xirrtu^t  rV''"''^''  "-^ 

■nterests  are  impaired  •  «,T-  ""^f*^  ""'y  "■hen  material 
interests  a,,  prrerol;  A  ,  *'  ""'"^''  ^""-'  *>■«- 
American  newspaper  is  s-  ?T  "'/  ^'''•™^''  »"''  «" 
which  exists  in  S  Jle't  b^  "^  f '""  "'"  **-"- 
France,  the  space  JlottSf  '"  ""  '"'^  ""'»"'•    In 

veiy  limited/and  th  „  tsltX"""';'  ""^"''-"^'a  is 
but  the  essential  part  ctZT  T'^^  ""'  •=™^''<'«rable ; 
politics  of  the  C  In  ir  'V'"'  ''■■^™^''°"  «f  '■'« 
enormous  sheet  arefilled  witTT'  '•  '  ''"'^'""  "^  '■'« 
mainder  is  fi-eouemlv  t.  /f  "^"""''"'='  '""^  'I'e  re- 
trivia.  anecdoSs  "  roZt  '^  ?"""""'  '■"'^"'>"-  » 
finds  a  comer  devoted  to  L.    T  '"  "™"''  "«"  «"« 

which  the  journr^'       irrtetT"'""- • '*^  "■"^^ 
readers.  ^^®  ^^^^^^  %  give  to  their 

bAel^ITn^rrtfl"^^^^^^^^^^  -"  '■■•-ered 
influence  of  a  power  is  W„  .  -"^  "  '"'^I""''  that  the 
tion  is  centralizT  ll  "e  th'"  ""''""'''"'  ^  "'  *- 
foIdcentn.h.tion;  all'r  Vs'  rrisTe^n  ^  'T 
same  spot,  and,  so  to  speak    in  H,?  f"*  '"  ""^ 

or^ns  a.  far  .om  num^rtl  "xtirflr:":^^  [  %Z 


.(  f 


1  vil . 


.  ''M 


:.|' 


236 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


press  thus  constituted,  upon  a  sceptical  nation,  must  be  al- 
most unbounded.  It  is  an  enemy  with  whom  a  government 
may  sign  an  occasional  truce,  but  which  it  is  difficult  to 
resist  for  any  length  of  time. 

Neither  of  these  kinds  of  centralization  exists  in  Amer- 
ica. The  United  States  have  no  metropolis;  the  intel- 
ligence and  the  power  of  the  people  are  disseminated 
through  all  the  parts  of  this  vast  country,  and  instead  of 
radiating  from  a  common  point,  they  cross  each  other  in 
every  direction ;  the  Americans  have  nowhere  established 
any  central  direction  of  opinion,  any  more  than  of  the 
conduct  of  affairs.  This  difference  arises  from  local  cir- 
cumstances, and  not  from  human  power ;  but  it  is  owincr 
to  the  laws  of  the  Union  that  there  are  no  licenses  to  be 
granted  to  printers,  no  securities  demanded  from  editors,  as 
in  France,  and  no  stamp  duty,  as  hi  France  and  England. 
The  consequence  is,  that  nothing  is  easier  than  to  set  up  a 
newspaper,  as  a  small  number  of  subscribers  suffices  to  de- 
fray the  expenses. 

Hence  the  number  of  periodical  and  semi-periodical  pub 
lications  in  the  United  States  is  almost  incredibly  large. 
The  most  enlightened  Americans  attribute  the  little  in 
fluence  of  the  press  to  this  excessive  dissemination  of  its 
power ;  and  it  is  an  axiom  of  political  science  in  that  coun- 
try,  that  the  only  way  to  neutralize  the  effect  of  the  public 
journals  is  to  multiply  their  number.  I  cannot  see  how  a 
truth  which  is  so  self-evident  should  not  already  have  been 
more  generally  admitted  in  Europe.  I  can  see  why  the 
persons  who  hope  to  bring  about  revolutions  by  means  of 
the  press,  should  be  desirous  of  confining  it  to  a  few  power- 
ful organs ;  but  it  is  inconceivable  that  the  official  partisans 
of  the  existing  state  of  things,  and  the  natural  supporters 
of  the  laws,  should  attempt  to  diminish  the  influence  of  the 
press  by  concentrating  its  power.  The  governments  of 
Europe  seem  to  treat  the  press  with  the  courtesy  which 


UBEBIV  OP  THE  PKESS  m  THE  UNITED  STATES.      237 

ciplino  "lo    unitv  of     ?  ^       "T^"''"'  "'«  ""''"'o^  di- 

1-  own  ..anrr  AU  ten  IV  T'"'"-"^  «g'"»  -nder 
State,  are.  inde^l  artJeMlfZ;''  1  '!'^.  ^"'"^^ 
or  against  it ;  bnt  the/attack  Melat  ^f^^T'"" 
different  ways.     Thev  Pnnn«*  <•         ,  tliousand 

opinion  ^f  .^7:zi:Zo^,  s— r ;' 

vision  of  the    nfluence  of  the  ^^  \  "^^  '^'" 

quence,  .ea.e„  >  J^/^lll'^'^VeteXtu  TT 

proficX::^.:::^:.^:"!^^^ 

these  undertakings.    Such  is'^^he  n^Ltrlf  ,h"°'^t;" 

rs;:r:s„rrdi:~^^^^ 
ptr  :5;?- f;- -irr^^ 

*e  exception,  to  this  mode  of  writing  are  onlt  2ii'on" 
open  and  coarse  appeal  to  the  passion,  of  his  readers 


n 


11 


>i    a 


li'S 


^  >i 


i  {| 


i  M 


238 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


9B| 


fli 

'wMt 


11 


lie  abandons  principles  to  assail  the  characters  of  individ- 
uals, to  track  them  into  private  life,  and  disclose  all  their 
weaknesses  and  vices. 

Nothing  can  be  more  deplorable  than  this  abuse  of  the 
powers  of  thought ;  I  shall  have  occasion  to  point  out  here- 
after the  influence  of  the  newspapers  upon  the  taste  and 
the  morality  of  the  American  people ;  but  my  present  sub- 
ject exclusively  concerns  the  political  world.  It  cannot  be 
denied,  that  the  ])olitical  effects  of  this  extreme  license  of 
the  press  tend  indirectly  to  the  maintenance  of  public  or 
der.  The  individuals  who  already  stand  high  in  the  ePtcem 
of  their  fellow-citizens  are  afraid  to  write  in  the  newspa- 
pers, and  they  are  thus  deprived  of  the  most  powerful  in- 
strument which  they  can  use  to  excite  the  passions  of  the 
multitude  to  their  own  advantage.* 

The  personal  opinions  of  the  editors  have  no  weight  in 
the  eyes  of  the  public :  what  they  seek  in  a  newspaper  is  a 
knowledge  of  facts,  and  it  is  only  by  altering  or  distorting 
those  facts,  that  a  journalist  can  contribute  to  tlie  support 
of  his  own  views. 

But  although  the  press  is  limited  to  these  resources,  its 
influence  in  America  is  immense.  It  causes  political  life  to 
circulate  through  all  the  parts  of  that  vast  territory.  Its 
eye  is  constantly  open  to  detect  the  secret  springs  of  polit 
ical  designs,  and  to  summon  the  leaders  of  all  parties  in 
turn  to  the  bar  of  public  opinion.  It  rallies  the  interests 
of  the  community  round  certain  principles,  and  draws  up 
the  creed  of  every  party ;  for  it  affords  a  means  of  inter- 
course between  those  who  hear  and  address  each  other, 
without  ever  coming  i'  '  ?t  unodiate  contact.  Wlien  many 
organs  of  the  press  acV  n  '  ;■  ;ame  lii  ^  ^f  conduct,  their 
influence  in  the  long  ^  uii  becomes  irresistible ;  and  public 

*  They  only  write  in  the  papers  when  they  choose  to  address  th«  people 
in  their  own  name ;  as,  for  instance,  when  they  are  called  upon  t»)  repel 
calomnious  imputations,  or  to  correct  a  misstatement  of  facts. 


LIBEBtr   OP  THE  mss  m  THE   UmTED   STATES.       239 

journal  ex.n.«es  but  little      tS    luH'  ""''  "'""™'« 
peno<Ue«.  p..  i,  ,eeo„d  „n„  :Z,  If  V„';;;!:  "'  "^^ 

ministration  conseqnentlv  ,!  ,!„  "^  '   *"''  "'"  »<1- 

order  in  its  measu'r  L  ',71^7"  •'°"'''™^^  "^ 
government  are  more  stabk  1^1  TT  !"'""P^'^  ">'  "'" 
-gulate  society  are  ird^;.   «"  ^^ If  "'"""'"  ^"'''' 

invincible  Weju.iic!:  ZZu^Zn  ^""'''"  t"'  """^ 
try  of  Europe.     I  attribute  tbiT,  ^^  °""""  "^o™" 

fim  sight,  a'ppear  to tve   n'^  ^  ^7'"'"  "r'  »' 
the  liberty  of  the  press      Tb!    ?     'on^ency,  namely,  to 

liborty  exists  clinir  l'  "'  °'"™S''  ^''o"  ''"s 

from  'convictior  TheyeheZ^rt  "  T""  ''""'  ^""^  ^ 
them  to  be  Just,  JbI„X  Ze  ^^f  ^  "°"' 
free  will ;  and  thev  afJIi*.r.o  f«  .1,  ®^  *"^'^  o^'" 

-  true,  but  ^'ZfZ;:^^^^^  the, 

reasons  conduce  to  the  same  end  ''"'  "'^"^ 

It  was  remarked  by  a  man  of  genius  th.f  u  • 
lies  at  the  two  ends  of  knowledge  "     pll'  'g"«^ance 

been  more  correct  to  .«v  H    .    !*  ""^^P'  ^*  '^«"'d  have 

oni.  at  the  tr  U^  1^^^^^^^^^^ 

'  "''t  ^°"bt  lies  m  the  middle. 

•  See  Appendix  P. 


i 


m 


M' 


Pi, 


I  ! 


?ilf'ii  I  ^  '  "i"' 


210 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


The  human  intellect,  in  truth,  may  be  considered  in  three 
distinct  states,  which  frequently  succeed  one  another. 

A  man  believes  firmly,  because  he  adopts  a  proposition 
without  inquiry.  He  doubts  as  soon  as  objections  present 
themselves.  But  he  frequently  succeeds  in  satisfying  these 
doubts,  and  then  he  begins  again  to  believe.  This  time, 
he  has  not  a  dim  and  casual  glimpse  of  the  truth,  but  sees 
it  clearly  before  him,  and  advances  by  the  light  it  gives.* 

When  the  liberty  of  the  press  acts  upon  men  who  are  in 
the  first  of  these  three  states,  it  does  not  immediately  dis- 
turb their  habit  of  believing  implicitly  without  investigation, 
but  it  changes  every  day  the  objects  of  their  unreflecting 
convictions.  The  human  mind  continues  to  discern  but 
one  point  at  a  time  upon  the  whole  intellectual  horizon, 
and  that  point  is  constantly  changing.  This  is  the  period 
of  sudden  revolutions.  Woe  to  the  generations  wiiich  first 
abruptly  adopt  the  freedom  of  the  press. 

The  circle  of  novel  ideas,  however,  is  soon  travelled 
over.  Experience  comes  to  undeceive  men,  and  plunges 
them  into  doubt  and  general  mistrust.  We  may  rest 
assured  that  the  majority  of  mankind  will  always  stop  in 
one  of  these  two  states,  will  either  believe  they  know  not 
wherefore,  or  will  not  know  what  to  believe.  Few  are 
those  who  can  ever  attain  to  that  other  state  of  rational 
and  independent  conviction,  which  true  knowledge  can 
produce  out  of  the  midst  of  doubt. 

It  lias  been  remarked  that,  in  times  of  great  religious 
fervor,  men  sometimes  change  their  religious  opinions ; 
whereas,  in  times  of  general  scepticism,  every  one  clings  to 
his  old  persuasion.  The  same  thing  takes  place  in  politics 
under  the  liberty  of  the  press.  In  countries  where  all  the 
theories  of  social  science  have  been  contested  in  their  turn, 

*  It  may,  however,  be  doubted  wliether  this  rational  and  sclf-guidingr  con 
viction  arouses  as  much  fervor  or  enthusiastic  dcvotedncss  in  men,  as  their 
first  dogmatical  belief. 


MBEBT7  OP  THE  PRESS  IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.      241 

men  who  have  adopted  one  of  them  stick  to  it,  not  so 
much  because  they  are  sure  of  its  truth,  as  because  thev 

pTese^t  aT  '''''  ^'"^  '  ^"^  '^"^  '^  "^  "^  ^  ' 
fonTbut  ?b'  ""'"  """  T  "'^  '''^y  *«  ^'  ^«'  then,  opin- 
ions but  they  arc  rarely  inclined  to  change  them  •  there 
are  few  martyrs,  as  weU  as  few  apostates  ' 

Another  still  more  vahd  reason  may  be  adduced-  when 
noopmionsare  looked  upon  as  cer  Jn,  men  chng  to  the 
mer.  mstmcts   and   material   interests   of   their  pos^ion 
which  are  naturally  more  tangible,  definite,  and  peCem 
than  any  opmions  in  the  world.  ™anent 

Jrlct'orTde"''""'' '""''"  ''  decide,  whether  an  aris- 
.ocracy  or  a  democracy  governs  the  best.  But  it  is  certain 
hat  democracy  annoys  one  part  of  tl.e  commun  ty^id 
hat  anstocracy  oppresses  another.  It  is  a  truth  2ch"s 
elf-estabhshed,  and  one  which  it  is  needless  to  i^^^J 
that  «  you  are  rich  and  I  am  poor."  "Jscush, 


16 


I  I] 

'  I 

til 


242 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


POLITICAL  ASSOCIATIONS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Daily  Use  which  the  Anglo-Americans  make  of  the  Right  of  Association.  - 
Three  Kinds  of  Political  Associations.  —  How  the  Americans  apply  the 
Representative  System  to  Associations.  —  Dangers  resulting  to  the  State. 
—  Great  Convention  of  1831  relative  to  the  Tariff.— Legislative  Character 
of  this  Convention.  —  Why  the  unlimited  Exercise  of  the  Right  of  Aa- 
Bociation  is  less  dangerous  in  the  United  States  than  elsewhere.  —  Why 
it  may  be  looked  upon  as  necessary.  —  Utility  of  Associations  among  a 
democratic  People. 

IS  .^®  ^^'i^"*^  ^"  ^^^^  world  has  the  principle  of  associa- 
tion been  more  successfully  used,  or  applied  to  r  greater  (/ 


multitiKle"of  objects,  than  in  America.  Besides  Ihe  pei^ 
manent  associations,  which  are  established  by  law,  under 
the  names  of  townships,  cities,  and  counties,  a  vast  number 
of  others  are  formed  and  maintained  by  the  agency  of  pri- 
vate individuals. 

The  citizen  of  the  United  States  is  taught  from  infancy 
to  rely  upon  his  own  exertions,  in  order  to  resist  the  evils 
and  the  difficulties  of  life ;  he  looks  upon  the  social  author- 
ity with  ai.  eye  of  mistrust  and  anxiety,  and  he  claims  its 
assistance  only  when  ho  is  unable  to  do  without  it.  This 
habit  may  be  traced  even  in  the  schools,  where  the  children 
in  their  games  are  wont  to  submit  to  rules  which  they  have 
tiiemselves  established,  and  to  punish  misdemeanors  which 
they  have  themselves  defined.  The  same  spirit  pervades 
every  act  of  social  life.  If  a  stoppage  occurs  in  a  thor- 
oughfare, and  the  circulation  of  vehicles  is  hindered,  tiie 
neighbors  immediately  form  themselves  into  a  deliberative 


.  .WkWi»««*«^  js*«fc«uiwi'. 


»«K«JMWiia»t«liiK<ij»(ai, 


POLITICAL  ASSOCUTIONS  IN  THE  UNITED   STATES.      243 

body;  and  this  extemporaneous  assembly  gives  rise  to  a„ 
executjve  power,  whicl,  remedies  the  inc'lfvenie  ^e  hire 
anyWy  has  thought  of  recurring  to  a  pt^xistin.  autt^ 
ay  superior  to  that  of  the  persons  immediately  c^nc"™^ 

exclusively  of  a  moral  nature,  as  to  diminish  the  vice  of 
mtemperai,ce.  fojhe  United  States,  associations  a^  et 
tabhshed  to  promote  the  pubHc  safety,  commerce,  inZtry 
morality,  and  religion.  There  is  no  end  which  he  1,11' 
wiU  despairs  of  attaining  through  the  combined  power  rf 
individuals  united  into  a  society. 

I  shall  have  occasion  hereafter  to  show  the  effects  of 
associa  ion  m  civil  life;  I  confine  myself  for  the  prelt  tl 

^c?g^tT  r  V     '^'^"  """  *^  "^""  "'  ^^'"^'"'"^ 
recognized,  the  citizens  may  use  it  in  different  ways 

a  number  of  mdividuals  give  to  certain  doctrines;  and  in     ^ 
he  engagement  which  they  contract  to  promote  ii  a  cer" 
tain  manner  the  spread  of  those  doctrines.     The  right  of 
associating  w.th  such  views  is  very  analogous  to  the  hber^ 
of  unhcensed  printing;  but  societies  thL  formed  posset 
more  authority  than  the  press.    When  an  opinion  i  Z 
resented  by  a  society,  it  necessarily  assumes  a  more  exact 
and  explicit  form.     It  numbei.  its%arti.,ans,  and  comp  I 
mises  them  m  its  cause:  they,  on  the  other  hand,  becLt 
acquainted  with  each  other,  and  thei-  zeal  is  incr;ased  by 
their  number.    An  association  unites  into  one  channel  the 
efforts  of  diverging  minds,  and    urges  them   vigorously    <' 
towards  the  one  end  which  it  clearly  points  outr  ^    ^ 

The  second  degree  in  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  ass,>  ,y 
cation  IS  die  power  of  meeting.     When  an  .tsociation  is  ^ 
lowed  to  establish  centres  of  action  at  certain  import" n 
pomts  m  the  country,  its  activity  is  increased,  and  its  in- 


/ 


I'll 


244 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


fluenco  extended.     Men  have  the  opportunity  of  seeing 
each  other;  meaiia^ of  emcution  are  combined  ;  and  opin- 
Jons  are   maintained  with  a  warmth   and   energy  which 
written  language  can  never  attain, 
/T)     .  ■^''*^*^^'  "^  *^®  exercise  of  the  right  of  political  associa- 
O     tion,  there  is  a  third  degree :  the  4)artisans  of  an  opinion 
may  unite  in  electoral  bodies,  and  choose  delegates  to  repre-" 
^ent  them  in  a  central  assembly.     This  is,  properly  speak^ 
ing,  the  application  of  the  representative  system  to  a  party. 
Thus,  in  the  first  instance,  a  society  is  formed  between 
individuals  professing  the  same  opinion,  and  the  tie  which 
keeps  it  together  is  of  a  purely  intellectual  nature.     In  the 
second  case,  small  assembhes  are  formed,  which  represent 
only  a  fraction  of  the  party.     Lastly,  in  the  third  case, 
they  constitute,  as  it  were,  a  separate  nation  in  the  midst 
-.9f.-il^?-natipn,   a  government   within    the    government. 
Their  delegates,  like  the  real  delegates  of  the  majority, 
represent  the  whole  collective  force  of  their  party ;  and, 
like  them,  also,  have  an  appearance  of  nationality  and  all 
the  moral  power  which  results  fi-om  it.     It  is  "true   that 
they  have  not  the  right,  like  the  others,  of  making  the 
laws ;  but  they  have  the  power  of  attacking  those  which 
are  in  force,  and  of  drawing  up  beforehand  those  which 
ought  to  be  enacted. 

If,  among  a  people  who  are  imperfectly  accustomed  to 
the  exercise  of  fi-eedom,  or  are  exposed  to  violent  [)oHtical 
passions,  by  the  side  of  the  majority  who  make  the  laws 
be  placed  a  minority  who  only  deliberate  and  get  laws 
ready  for  adoption,  I  cannot  but  believe  that  public  tran- 
quillity would  there  incur  very  great  risks.  There  is 
doubtless  a  wide  difference  between  proving  that  one  law 
is  in  itself  better  than  another,  and  proving  that  the  former 
ought  to  be  substituted  for  the  latter.  But  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  multitude  is  very  apt  to  overlook  this  dTffer- 
ence,  which  is  so  apparent  to  the  minds  of  thinkincr  men. 


S 


/ 


V 


/ 


0 


■  -vfciiHAl^ii'KKk,. 


^^i*MiSte.««)«».. 


POLITICAL  ASSOCIATIONS  IN   THE   UNITED   STATES       2ii\ 

conunt  ,0  speak  without  acting   t  It      iT'i  '""^  ^ 

tJie  modern  worlrl   ,>  ,'.  .1      7-  ?  convinced  that,  in  <^ 

.0  rcnain  free  is  therefo:^ Hg,^  ^ ZaTdt  ^t    "™'"'''' 

necessa,,,  a..  ^o^Tnge^  I?th:  'tr""'  f""  '"^ 
poses  IS  unlnnited.     An  examnlp  will    i        .  ^   "^^^  P"*^"  ^ 

H.Ht  to .  ,„    t,rpictwr  '^'-- 

Ject  of  debate  as  a~  of'^^il:  jrit-^tV  ""■ 
great  material  interests  of  the  Ztes      li   ^     i    '"""' 

means  of  the  newspapers,  to  all  the  enemies  of  the  tiriffi 


*,  ' 


m 


I!'. 


I  !l 


I'M 


).,     ■" 


246 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


to  send  delegates  to  Philadelphia,  in  order  to  consult  to- 
gether upon  the  best  means  of  restoring  freedom  of  trade. 
This  proposal  circulated  in  a  few  days,  by  the  power  of  the 
press,  from  Maine  to  New  Orleans :  the  opponents  of  the 
tariff  adopted  it  with  enthusiasm ;  meetings  were  held  in 
all  quarters,  and  delegates  were  appointed.     The  majority 
of  these  delegates  were  well  known,  and  some  of  them 
had  earned  a  considerable  degree  of  celebrity.     South  Car- 
olina alone,  which  afterwards  took  up  arms  in  the  same 
cause,  sent  sixty-three  delegates.     On  the  1st  of  October, 
1831,  this  assembly,  which,  according  to  the  American 
custom,  had  taken  the  name  of  a  Convention,  met  at  Phil- 
adelphia ;  it  consisted  of  more  than  two  hundred  members. 
Its  debates  were  public,  and  they  at  once  assumed  a  legis- 
lative character ;   the  extent  of  the  powers  of  Congress, 
the  theories  of  free  trade,  and  the  different  provisions  of 
the  tariff  were  discussed.     At  the  end  of  ten  days,  the 
Convention  broke  up,  having  drawn  up  an  address  to  the 
American  people,  in  which  it  declared:  —  1.  That  Con- 
gress had  not  the  right  of  making  a  tariff,  and  that  the  ex- 
isting tariff  was  unconstitutional.     2.  That  the  prohibition 
of  free  trade  was  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  any  nation, 
and  to  those  of  the  American  people  especially. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  unrestrained  liberty 
of  political  association  has  not  hitherto  produced,  in  the 
United  States,  the  fatal  results  which  might  perhaps  be 
expected  from  it  elsewhere.  The  right  of  association  was 
imported  from  England,  and  it  has  always  existed  in 
America;  the  exercise  of  this  privilege  is  now  incorpo- 
rated with  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people.  At 
the  present  time,  the  liberty  of  association  has  become  a 
necessary  guaranty  against  the  tyranny  of  the  majority. 
In  the  United  States,  as  soon  as  a  party  has  become  dom- 
inant, all  public  authority  passes  into  its  hands :  its  private 
supporters  occupy  all  the  offices,  and  have  all  the  force  of 


rffc&«!s«i»i.  **«a««aNi«iu.»i»asCfttfflas.-.j 


rOL.T,CAL  ASSOOUTIONS  m  THE   TO,TED  STATES.      247 

*e  barrier  wWoh  ex  1.  d^Thl"'  T""'^  ™™'"  '''""'""'' 

moral  authority  of  tl,7™        ,  ^      "^  "PP"""  "■"  "''"ote 
which  dominim  t     '^C^ld  "'■"''■"'  P°"" 

-d  to  obviate  a  .i„  mL  fJ^tZr  ^''''^'"^'"  " 

«.ay  remind  the  r^ST,  otl^Tr,  T  "'"■"'°"  "'''^•' 
tl.e  freedom  of  townlL*  t,  ''"" ''''™  ^P^^-'S  <>f 
«hich  associatiomt^  Lr      aT  ''"  ""  '="™'™^  '"  ^' 

jt^hieh  rdUt.tr.'^iSe;'  \''"'"^^'  ^% 

nations,  tlTe  bodv  nCI,.  „i,  '.    .  "     '"  »"stocratic    » 


Hhl 


t..em.,;„3n„L°s::i^,:„t':hii^^^^^^^^^^  -« V" 

power.  In  countries  where  s^hT.l  !•  !  "'''  "^ 
if  private  individuals  cannot  ere  el  "^1  T  '^'"' 
n.iy  substitute  for  them  I  cnnT  ""''  """?'- 

against  the  most  JZr\lZ7  °r'^'"""  '""^''''" 
be  oppressed  wit!  im;„5  Z'a  smal,rt-  ''"'K""' 
single  individual.  ^  ^        """  ^''"™'  •»•  by  a 

are'^ctrSofan  S  rl't  ™"r"""'  ^'^  *- 
a  necessa.7  -asur:  is  atSstlLro  ''"^"''^  ''-"- 
America,  and  one  wb.Vl.  •    i    ■  »<^'^«'Tenee,  even  in 

without  da™      ThI  r    '  "'  ^"""'^  '""""'  "'§''«' 

strove  to  molAtI   t,  ,  "     '  '"°'\'''^""S"-I'ed  member, 
within  certa  „Tm  t         tT'"^l\",''  '".  "''™"  "^  "•'j"'*'^ 

e.e-.ised  a  .reaTt  JL:    ^f  ifnd's  !f t'""r"- 
tents,  and  prepared  tliom  ft.    .1  ^  ^^'^  '"^^^n- 

laws  ot  the  Union  which  took  place  in  1832. 


€  LK 


^TEi^ 


248 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


G" 


It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  mirestrainad -liberty  of  naao- 
ciatiQiijOTpofi tical  purposes  is  the  privilege  which  apeople 
ia  longest  in  Teaming  how  to  exercise^^  If  it  does  not 
/►  •  throw  the  nation  into  anarchy,  it  perpetually  augments  the 
^  chances  of  that  calamity.  On  one  point,  however,  this 
perilous  hberty  offers  a  security  against  dangers  of  another 
kind ;  in  countries  where  associations  are  free,  secret  soci- 
eties are  unknown.  In  America,  there  are  factions,  but  no 
conspiracies. 


i' 


Different  'Wa3-8  in  which  the  Right  of  Association  is  understood  in  Earop« 
and  in  the  United  States.  —  Different  Use  which  is  made  of  it. 

The  most  natural  privilege  of  man,  next  to  the  right  of 
acting  for  himself,  is  that  of  combining  his  exertions  with 
those  of  his  fellow-creatures,  and  of  acting  in  common 
withjhem.  The  right  of  association  therefore  appears  to 
me  almost  asjnaliftnnhjg  JT^  ifg  Ti^,t,^^rg  as  the  ri^ht  of  per- 
sonal liberty.  No  legislator  can  attack  it  without  impairing 
the  foundations  of  society.  Nevertheless,  if  the  liberty 
of  association  is  only  a  source  of  advantage  and  prosperity 
to  some  nations,  it  may  be  perverted  or  carried  to  excess 
by  others,  and  from  an  element  of  life  may  be  changed 
into  a  cause  of  destruction.  A  comparison  of  the  differ- 
ent methods  which  associations  pursue,  in  those  countries 
in  which  liberty  is  well  understood,  and  in  those  where 
Hberty  degenerates  into  license,  may  be  useful  both  to  gov- 
ernments and  to  parties. 

Most  Europeans  look  upon  association  as  a  weapon 
which  is  to  be  hastily  fashioned,  and  immediately  tried  in 
the  conflict.  A  society  is  formed  for  discussion,  but  the 
idea  of  impending  action  prevails  in  the  minds  of  all  those 
who  constitute  it.  It  is,  in  fact,  an  army ;  and  the  time 
given  to  speech  serves  to  reckon  up  the  strength  »nd  to 
animate  the  courage  of  the  host,  after  which  they  march 


'«»»«■«<.,  ,i»<.«l!A*»j(««i*<^jis,  - 


POLITIUAL  ASSOCUTIONS  IN  THE   UNITED   STATES.      249 

..gainst  the  enemy.  Resources  which  lie  within  the  bounds 
o»  law  may  suggest  themselves,  to  the  persons  who  com- 
pose ,,  as  means,  but  never  as  the  only  means,  of  success, 
buch,  however,  ,s  not  the  manner  in  which  the  right  of 
assocjafon  IS  understood  in  the  United  States.  I„  Amer- 
ica the  cfzens  who  form  the  minority  associate,  in  ord  , 
first,  to  show  then-  numerical  strength,  and  so  to  diminish 
he  mo,,,  „f  ,,^  „^.„^,^^^  ^^^^  -J. 

late  eompetifon,  and  thus  to  discover  those  argumento 
which  are  most  fitted  to  act  upon  the  majority:  for  t  .ey 
always  entertain  hopes  of  drawing  over  L  majority  ^ 
heir  own  side  and  then  disposing  of  the  supreme  powfr  in 
ts  name.  Pohfcal  associations  in  the  United  States  ar^ 
therefore  peaceable  in  their  intentions,  and  strictly  C™ 

^IrS     '  .*^y™'I''''^'  and  they  ass;rtwifh  ,ro,.fec; 
M^jfeUhey  aim  at  success  only  by  lawful  expedients.'-- 

The  difference  which   exists  in   this  respect  between 
Americans  and  Europeans  depends  on  sevei^  causes.      n 
Europy,  there  are  parties  which  difl^er  so  much  from  thT' 
maonty  that  they  can  never  hope  to  acquire  its  support 
-IZ^'  *eZjhink  they  arc  strong  enough  in  themseTves 
J^n_tsnd.sgaunst.  it.     When  a  party  of  this  ki^  fi.«m  an 
association  Its  object  is,  not  to  con4ice,  butlo  fi^r  l" 
Amenea,  the  individuals  who  hold  opinions  much'oppos  d 
to  those  of  the  majority  can  do  nothing  against  it;  and  all 
other  parties  hope  to  win  it  over  to  Siefr  own  princMe 
The  exercise  of  the  right  of  association  becomes  dangerous,' 

Inabl  tr'""*°"''l«"'"  ^'^"^  ^"'^  themselves  "wholi; 
unable  to  acquire  the  majority.  In  a  country  like  the 
United  States,  in  which  the  differences  of  opinion  r 
S  f-i?»^£?fe  the  right  of  associatio'  may  re! 
mam  uurestramed  without  evil  consequences.  Our  inex- 
perience of  hberly  lead,  us  to  regard  the  liberty  of  associ 
ton  only  as  a  right  of  attacking  the  government.  The 
tot  notion  which  presents  itself  to  a  party,  as  weU  as  to 


i 


250 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


k 


■4 


an  individual,  when  it  has  acquired  a  consciousness  of  its 
own  strength,  is  that  of  violence:  the  notion  of  persuasion 
arises  at  a  later  period,  and  is  derived  fi-om  experience. 
The  English,  who  are  divided  into  parties  which  differ  es- 
sentially from  each  other,  rarely  abuse  the  right  of  associa- 
tion, because  they  have  long  been  accustomed  to  exercise 
it.  In  France,  the  passion  for  war  is  so  intense,  that  there 
is  no  undertaking  so  mad,  or  so  injurious  to  the  welfare  of 
the  state,  that  a  man  does  not  consider  himself  honored  in 
defending  it  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 

But  perhaps^ie  most  powerful  of  the  causes  which  tend 
to- mitigate   the  violence   of  political   associations   in   the  I'^ 
United  States  is  universal  suffrage.     In  countries  in  which 
universal  suffrage  exists,  the  majority  is  never  doubtful, 
br3cause  neither  party  can  reasonably  pretend  to  represent 
that  portion  of  the  community  which  has  not  voted.     The 
aiisociations  know  as  well  as  the  nation  at  large,  that  they 
do  not  represent  the  majority.     This  results,lndeed,  from 
the  very  fact  of  their  existence;  for  if  they  did  represent 
the  preponderating  power,  they  would  change  the  law  in- 
stead of  soliciting  its  reform.     The  consequence  of  this  is, 
that  the  moral  influence  of  the  government  which  they 
attack  is  much  increased,  and  their  own  power  is  much 
enfeebled. 

In  Euroi)e,  there  are  few  associations  which  do  not  affect 
to  represent  the  majority,  or  which  do  not  believe  that  they 
represent  it.  This  conviction  or  this  pretension  tends  to 
augment  their  force  amazingly,  and  contributes  no  less  to 
legalize  their  measures.  Violence^mayseem  to  be  ex-  </ 
cusablejnjefence  i^^^^  j.\^]^^^     r^^ 

^lJh2!!Ll!^^J^^2^V}B'^^W  o^  human  laws,  that  extreme 
liberty  sometimes  "corrects  the  abuses  of  liberty,  ivnd  tliat 
extreme  democracy  obviates  the  dangers  of  democracy. 
In  Europe,  associations  consider  themselves,  in  some  de- 
gree, as  the  legislative  and  executive  council  of  the  people, 


■■•'>9m»i*:f 


POLITICAL   ASSOCIATIONS   IN   THK   UNITED   STATES.      251 

wln-ch  Is  unable  to  .peak  for  itself;  n^oved  by  tbis  belief 

represent  in  tie  eyes  of  all  only  a  minority  of  tbe  nation 
they  argue  and  petition.  ^  ^''°"' 

The  means  which  associations  in  Europe  employ  are  in 
accordance  w  th  the  onrl  wl,:»i,   ^u  "'1»"7»  are  in 

a  e.  but  partakes  of  the  habit,  and  „axim,  rf  Xy 
l.fe.  They  central.^.,  also,  the  direction  of  their  fom 
much  as  possible,  and  in.n.t  the  power  of  th  W,l  „  rtv 
to  a  small  number  of  leaders.  '^    ^ 

The  members  of  these  associations  respond  to  a  watch- 
word,l,ke  soldiers  on  duty;  they  profess  the  dLtnW 
passive  ofehence ;  say  ™ther,  that  in  uniting  togXr  h  ^ 

ci  e  is  oftei  f^  •'  '""'""'  "'■''=''  "'«^»  '«"«"■-»  exer- 

cise, s  often  far  more  msupportable  than  the  authority  pos- 
sessed over  socety  by  the  government  which  the,  S 
The,r  moral  force  is  much  diminished  by  these  proceed^t 
nd  they  lose  the  sacred  chapter  which  always  C^^ 
tea  smuggle  of  the  oppressed  against  their  oppriso...  He 
who  m  ^ven  cases  consents  to  obey  his  fellows  with  ser! 
«bty,  and  who  submits  his  will,  and  even  his  thou.lus  t„ 
thou- control,  how  can  he  pretend  that  he  wishes  to  iS  te  " 
The  Amencans  have  also  established  a  govemmentin 

forms  of  he  cml  admmistration.  Th,  independence  of 
ch  md,v,d„al  is  fonnally  recogni:«d;  as  in  society  =d  the 
members  advance  at  the  same  time  towarfs  the  si^e  end  • 
bu  they  are  not  all  obliged  to  follow  the  same  traTk  No* 
one  abjures  the  exercise  of  his  reason  and  free  wil  •  bu^ 


^' 


|i   i 

Iti 


I  w 


l"^li 


2o2 


DlilMOCKACV   m   AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 

I  AM  well  aware  of  tlio  difficulties  which  attend  thia 
part  of  my  subject ;  but  although  ever}'  expression 
which  I  am  about  to  use  may  clash,  ui)on  some  points, 
with  the  feelings  of  the  different  parties  which  divide  my 
country,  I  shall  still  speak  my  whole  thought. 

In  Europe,  we  are  at  a  loss  how  to  judge  the  true  char- 
acter and  the  permanent  instincts  of  democracy,  because 
in  Europe  two  conflicting  princij)les  exist,  and  we  do  not 
know  what  to  attribute  to  the  principles  themselves,  and 
what  to  the  passions  which  the  contest  produces.  Such, 
however,  is  not  the  case  in  America ;  there  the  people 
reign  without  imi)ediment,  and  they  have  no  perils  to 
dread,  and  no  injuries  to  avenge.  In  America,  democracy 
is  given  up  to  its  own  propensities ;  its  course  is  natural, 
and  its  activity  is  uin*estrained ;  there,  consequently,  its 
real  character  must  be  judged.  And  to  no  people  can  this 
inquiry  be  more  vitally  interesting  than  to  the  French 
nation,  who  are  blindly  driven  onwards,  by  a  daily  and 
in-esistible  impulse,  towards  a  state  of  things  which  may 
prove  either  despotic  or  republican,  but  which  will  assur- 
edly be  democratic. 

UNIVERSAL  SUFFRAGE. 

I  HAVE  already  observed  that  universal  suffrage  has 
been  adopted  in  all  the  States  of  the  Union:  it  conse- 


"OVmNMKMT   OF  THE  DKMOOKAor  IN   AMKR.CA.       253 

<l"on,ly  exist,  in  communis  which  occupy  very  .liHerent 

"isitions  m  t he  aorinl  «c,iln      r  i         i    ■    ■^    ^'j' ""lerent 

observing  i„  ..ff,  vJ  '""'  "W"''"""'!™  of 

races  of  men  ,vl,o  are  nearly  strangers  to  each  other  in 
l.e.r  hmgnage,  ,  eir  religion,  „„.l  their  ,„o,le,  „f  ifc'    " 

Canada.     I  |,ave  remarkod  that  universal  sufTra'o  i,  fir 
(rom  producmg  in  America  either  all  the  good  or  all  the 
ev,l  conscience,  which  may  be  expected  from  it  in  E  , 
rope,  and  that  its  effects  generally  diflbr  vcy  mud    fmn 
those  which  are  attributed  to  it. 


THE   CHOICE   or  THE    PEOPLE,    AND  THE    INSTINCriVE    PREF 
EBENCE3  OF   THE   AMERICAN    DEMOORA^ 

democrat  c  Feelinc.  —  Whv  tli«  «,«  »  i-  .•       .  V     '™"'="»  "ut  a  purely 

inJ^t*7rr'''''"-^."'Tr^  "•"  '"  '«'''=™  "!*out  say- 

laXr o7r r  s:f  li'- 1  r  i:ft  "■■;  4 

c":^rce"^  t"  '"d  •"^"/■'■"  --V-rr; : 

contiaence.  They  admit  that  the  people  are  „„,  ,1„  t„ 
gover^  of  themselves,  but  they  aver  L't  e  pl;^  aL^ 
wish  the  welfare  of  the  state,  and  instinctively  desigll 

^ittT^:  °  nTfm :  irw^r '^-  ^  ^""^^'^ 

cide  witl,  ,1  •  •  America  by  no  means  coin- 

cide with  these  opinions.     On  my  arrival  in  the  United 
States,  I  was  sunirised  ,„  find  so  much  distinguished  t^knt 

ZZlrV"""  "  '1'  '""™«  .'.Ael'of  th 
government.  It  is  a  constant  fact,  that,  at  the  present  dav 
the  ablest  men  in  the  United  States  are  rarely  plX^ 


i   i\ 


254 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


head  of  affairs ;  and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  such 
has  been  the  result,  m  proportion  as  democracy  has  out- 
stepped all  its  former  limits.  The  race  of  American  states- 
men has  evidently  dwindled  most  remarkably  in  the  course 
of  the  last  fifty  years. 

Several  causes  may  be  assigned  for  this  phenomenon. 
It  is  unpossible,  after  the  most  strenuous  exertions,  to 
raise  the  intelligence  of  the  people  above  a  certain  level. 
Whatever  may  be  the  facilities  of  acquiring  information, 
whatever  may  be  the  profusion  of  easy  methods  and  cheap 
science,  the  human  mind  can  never  be  instructed  and 
developed  without  devoting  considerable  time  to  these 
objects. 

The  greater  or  the  less  possibility  of  subsisting  without 
labor  is  therefore  the  necessary  boundary  of  intellectual 
improvement.     This  '  -^undary  is   more   remote  in  some 
countries,  and  more  restricted  iu  others ;  but  it  must  exist 
somewhere,  as  long  as  the  people  are  constrained  to  work 
in  order  to  procui-e  the  means  of  subsistence,  that  is  to  say, 
as  long  as  they  continue  to  be  the  people.     It  is  therefore 
quite  as  difficult  to  imagine  a  state  in  which  all  the  citizens 
should  be  very  well  informed,  as  a  state  in  which  they 
should  all  be  wealthy ;  these  two  difficulties  are  correlative. 
I  readily  admit  that  the  mass  of  the  citizens  sincerely  wish 
to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  country ;  nay,  more,  I  even 
allow  that  the  lower  classes  mix  fewer  considerations  of 
personal   interest  with   their  patriotism   than   the  higher 
orders ;  but  it  is  always  more  or  less  difficult  for  them  to 
discern  the  best  means  of  attaining  the  end  which  they 
sincerely  desire.     Long  and  patient  observation  and  much 
acquired  knowledge  are  requisite  to  form  a  just  estimate  of 
the  character  of  a  single  individual.     Men  of  the  greatest 
genius  often  fail  to  do  it,  and  can  it  be  supposed  that  the 
vulgar  will  always  succeed  ?     The  people  have  neither  the 
time  nor  the  means  for  an  investigation  of  this  kind.   Their 


OOV^MKNT  OF  IH.  .hmOCHACV  U,  ^„.«,0.       265 

serving  of  their  confidence  Z„ft  i  """  ''''^'^  <•"- 
or  the  inclination  to  find  !L  °««">™  not  the  desire 
that  democraticim ti,  .•  °'"-    ^'  •=™''<"  »>«  denie.! 

feeling  oftv^irth  "hi  T»''^  '^^  '»  P^°™»'^  ">« 
they  Tfibrd  JeTeJlon^T  '^"'  i""  ^°  '""^''  ''-''-« 
level  with  others,?  bZutr""  "^  """»"  '^  *''"  ^™« 

point  the  persons  who  emXtt  ""n"'  '"'"'P'^*"'^'^  -"^P" 
awaken  Ld  fostrra  ™!  •      ^        Democratic  institutions 

never  entirely  satifV  '^  Thi,"  T' "'^  "'"'=''  "'"y  <="" 
grasp  of  the  Veopk  at  tl       """^""^  "'""^'"^  "^"^^  *« 

the/have  gjpi';:;d:;LT":T'  T"  *^-^  '"^"^ 

eternal  flight"-  tl,/ J„  i         '    ^  ^''*<'»' «»?=.  " with  an 

an  advantS  wh  eh  n^l'"  '."^''",''  '"  ^^e  pursuit  of 

Hciently  r^ote  tlJ     l     ""^'""^  ^'"^<' ''  '^  not  suf- 

enioyel     ?h   lower  or ,"'  •"■  ™«^'™*'y  "^"^  »»  be 
-L,  th?^a::^Si:t"-.^-;^J.t'>e  chance  of 

pass  from  the  enthusiasm  of  p„2it  oT  ^Z  ""''  "'"^ 
ill-snccess,  and  lastly  to  th.       •  ""^  exhaustion  of 

Whatevc'transcenlthdrn  7°°°^  »?  Jisappomtment. 
sf  ele  to  their  desltstdtr  ''  "PP^"^  ">  >«  "»  "b- 
legitimate  it  may  b    whTeh  s""/-  T  '"P'™™^'  '""™^« 

It  has  been  suppld  AaV  1        '*'°"''  "  '''^'^  ^'g'>'- 
the  lower  ordersTremove  th  •  ''"^*.™''"=''  ^hich  leads 
sible  from  the  ^t^ZotZ^rT '^  "'^''^  '^  ^'^ 
France.     This  however  •      ^  ^'  "*  Pe™liar  to 

I  aUude  is  n^t  FreTeH'  d"  '"'"''■  *'  '■"''"^' '°  ^hich 
heightened  by  pecultr  nohlv  7°"'*'"  ■'  "  ""^  ''*™  "^^ 
«s  origm  to  a"gh:   ea-  ™^™^'«'-.  but  it  owe. 


i! 


25(3 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


In  the  United  States,  tlie  people  do  not  hate  the  higher 
classes  of  society,  but  are  not  favorably  inclined  towards 
them,  and  careftiUy  exclude  them  from  the  exercise  of  au- 
thority. They  do  not  dread  distinguished  talents,  but  are 
rarely  fond  of  them.  In  general,  every  one  who  rises 
without  their  aid  seldom  obtains  their  favor. 

Whilst  the  natural  instincts  of  democracy  induce  the 
people  to  reject  distinguished  citizens  as  their  rulers,  an 
instinct  not  less  strong  induces  able  men  to  retire  from  the 
political  arena,  in  which  it  is  so  difficult  to  retain  their 
independence,  or  to  advance  without  becoming  servile. 
This  opinion  has  been  candidly  expressed  by  Chancellor 
Kent,  who  says,  in  speaking  with  high  praise  of  that  part 
of  the  Constitution  which  empowers  the  executive  to  nom- 
inate the  judges :  "  It  is  indeed  probable  that  the  men  who 
are  best  fitted  to  discharge  the  duties  of  this  high  office 
would  have  too  much  reserve  in  their  manners,  and  too 
much  austerity  in  their  principles,  for  them  to  be  returned 
by  the  majority  at  an  election  where  universal  suffrage  is 
adopted."  Such  were  the  opinions  which  were  printed 
without  contradiction  in  America  in  the  year  1830 1 

I  hold  it  to  be  sufficiently  demonstrated,  that  universal 
suffrage  is  by  no  means  a  guaranty  of  the  wisdom  of  the 
popular  choice.  Whatever  its  advantages  may  be,  this  is 
not  one  of  them. 


««»**j^*i.^r,,f,«rimilM,,i,,,^;^^ 


OOVKBKMENT  OF  THE  DEMOCKACV  IN  AME«,OA.   257 

of  the  Southwest. -How  00^7    ''^^^^^ 

pi«.  -  Election  h,  an  z::tZyZT:r: '"' ""''''' '' '''  ^- 

of  the  Senate.  ^'      "'  ^^'^"^  "Po°  the  Composition 

aWe  to  save  it.     It  ^Xj  Ij^^'"  ""^  "'","""* 
tains  his  customary  level  in  ven  critta  "^"^'^  '*" 

rises  above,  or  sinks  below    r  f  <^"-cu.nstances ;  he 

-ething'is  .™::f'a«  ;   'Ereto™:"-;""'  ""'""' 
quench  tJie  eiicro-v  of  .  ,.      i     .  •^*'^^'"^  P^^^^  sometimes 

they  excite,  wi*^t  tSJt  Z"^'  "'  ''T''''"'  " ' 
c'earing,  they  confuse  ^1,^7' ''  "^  •''"'^="' "^ 
Jews  fought  and  killed  each  n  C  n,fd  Z^'T  ^'" 
of  their  temple.     But  it  ;.  smoking  ruins 

tions  and  inllividuf,  . '  ,  :i3™""'  ''?"'  -'''  ""- 
oped  from  the  ve.7  in-milr:  ^rirr  P™'" 
character  are  then  brought  into  re  fcf  as  f he  er^" 
which  are  usually  concealerl  h„  ,1       >  ®''''''=^* 

illuminated  by  the -^rrfa/^fl  ?  "'""  "''  "'^ht  are 
gerous  times  Jls  Z 1     ~f'«^'"'°"-    At  those  dan- 

and  the  pe^ri^eVl^^^^  to  e  forward; 
buty  their  envious  passion^  n  a'  b  t  oh  ""  '"T""' 
names  may  then  be  drawn  from  th!  1  ?"•     ^'^^ 

I  have  already  observid  tWt       7"  of  election, 
of  the  present  day  are  very  i'i„"/r"™K  ^"""'"^" 
the  head  of  affai^  fifty    '^Zl     rr'''^''  ^"""'  " 
consequence  of  the  cirnimstancef  „,  ^fl^r  ""f  " 
country.     Wlien   Amprino  '"  '""'''  of  the 

^^y      VYUen   Amenca   was    struggling    in    the  high 


MM' 


■i' 


258 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


cause  of  independence,  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  anothei 
country,  and  when  it  was  about  to  usher  a  new  nation  into 
the  world,  the  spirits  of  its  inliabitants  were  roused  to  the 
height  which  their  great  objects  required.  In  this  general 
excitement,  distinguished  men  were  ready  to  anticipate  the 
call  of  the  community,  and  the  people  clung  to  them  foi 
support,  and  placed  them  at  their  head.  But  such  events 
are  rare ;  and  it  is  from  the  ordinary  course  of  affairs  that 
our  judgment  must  be  formed. 

If  passing  occurrences  sometimes  check  the  passions  of 
democracy,  the  intelligence  and  the  morals  of  the  commu- 
nity exercise  an  influence  on  them  which  is  not  less  power- 
ful, and  far  more  permanent.  This  is  very  perceptible  in 
the  United  States. 

In  New  England,  where  education  and  liberty  are  the 
daughters  of  morality  and  religion,  —  where  society  has  ac- 
quired age  and  stability  enough  to  enable  it  to  form  princi- 
ples and  hold  fixed  habits,  —  the  common  people  are  accus- 
tomed to  respect  intellectual  and  moral  superiority,  and  to 
submit  to  it  without  complaint,  although  they  set  at  naught 
all  those  privileges  which  wealth  and  birth  have  introduced 
among  mankind.  In  New  England,  consequently,  the  de- 
mocracy makes  a  more  judicious  choice  than  it  does  else- 
where. 

But  as  we  descend  towards  the  South,  to  those  States  in 
which  the  constitution  of  society  is  more  recent  and  less 
strong,  where  instruction  is  less  general,  and  the  principles 
of  morality,  religion,  and  liberty  are  less  happily  combined, 
we  perceive  that  talents  and  virtues  become  more  rare 
amang  those  who  are  in  authority. 

Lastly,  when  we  arrive  at  the  new  Southwestern  States, 
in  which  the  constitution  of  society  dates  but  from  yester- 
day, and  presents  only  an  agglomeration  of  adventurers 
and  speculators,  we  are  amazed  at  the  persons  who  are  m- 
vested  with  public  authority,  and  we  are  led  to  ask  by  what 


>iiBaiiitM»iiiii«Mii^,w|it<gKiitiT,>eii,awiiJ 


.wg«. 


the 


OOVEMMENT  OF  THE   DEA.OC«ACV  IN   AMEBICA.       259 

rc:  r;:r.  t".tr  s-"--  -r -™ 

is  very  ae„er.l    h  T^';  .1     '?"''^  ^"  ^''"^'^  ^^'"^^^ion 
A    a  few  yards'  distance  is  the   door  oTlZT    . 

wliilst  tlie  latter  seems  ^ '7       '  "^"'^^^  elements, 

and  talent?     bI"    ^JT'  ^  Tr"^''^  ''  "^^^"'>"- 
neonlp  •    K..1  ,  assemblies  emanate  from  the 

the  Senate  i,  hostile  to  the    „  L    3,     /  h'f  T'".''''"' 


I      ll 


260 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


bodies.  The  whole  body  of  the  citizens  name  the  legislature 
of  each  State,  and  the  Federal  Constitution  converts  these 
legislatures  into  so  many  electoral  bodies,  which  return  the 
members  of  the  Senate.  The  Senators  are  elected  by  an 
indirect  aj^pHcation  of  the  popular  vote :  for  the  legisla- 
tures which  appoint  them  are  not  aristocratic  or  privileged 
bodies,  which  elect  in  their  own  right ;  but  they  are  chosen 
by  the  totality  of  the  citizens ;  they  are  generally  elected 
every  year,  and  new  members  may  be  chosen  every  year 
enough  to  determine  the  Senatorial  appointments.  But 
this  transmission  of  the  popular  authority  through  an  as- 
sembly of  chosen  men  operates  an  important  change  in  it, 
by  refining  its  discretion  and  improving  its  choice.  Men 
who  are  chosen  in  this  manner  accurately  represent  the 
majority  of  the  nation  which  governs  them  ;  but  they  rep- 
resent only  the  elevated  thoughts  which  are  current  in  the 
community,  and  the  generous  propensities  which  prompt 
its  nobler  actions,  rather  than  the  petty  passions  which 
disturb,  or  the  vices  which  disgrace  it. 

The  time  must  come  when  the  American  republics  will 
be  obliged  more  frequently  to  introduce  the  plan  of  elec- 
tion by  an  elected  body  into  their  system  of  representation, 
or  run  the  risk  of  perishing  miserably  amongst  the  shoals 
of  democracy. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  avow,  that  I  look  upon  this  peculiar 
system  of  election  as  the  only  means  of  bringing  the  exer- 
cise of  political  power  to  the  level  of  all  classes  of  the  peo- 
ple. Those  who  hope  to  convert  this  institution  into  the 
exclusive  weapon  of  a  party,  and  those  who  fear  to  use  it, 
Beem  to  me  to  be  equally  in  error. 


««<«M»«l«Whc  i.i»aBiMirit|i6jJ(< 


GOVERNMENT    OF  THE  DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


261 


,  iuauison,  and  Jefferson  on  this  Subject. 

expTsTj'TifZTXr'^  "  long  i„te„a,3,  the  ,.at«  i, 

peated,  the  defeated  parties  take  patience. 
socfcttt!,7"'"'T'":  '^''"'""y'  their  recurrence  keep, 

« expied  t^  thr5r;f  ?2z^:  ™;:;r  •  t  ^'-'^ 
s::' jtr  *^'  "■«  ^—  »"-^~  t:;.^ 

-„dorthese''eviift„ther.Tr:,;^^^^^^^^^ 

jariety  ^  one  of  the  characteristic  passions  of  democracy 
Hence  the,r  legislation  is  sttungely  mutable.       *'""''^'=y- 

Hamilton,  after  having  demonstrated  the  utility  of  a 
the  power  Of  preye„ti;;td,allS!r:CT^;r 


262 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


:r    1, 


ing  good  ones,  and  may  be  used  to  the  one  piu'pose  as  well 
as  to  the  other.  But  this  objection  will  have  little  weig\t 
with  those  who  can  properly  estimate  the  mischiefs  of  that 
inconstancy  and  mutability  in  the  laws  which  form  the 
greatest  blemish  in  the  character  and  genius  of  our  govern- 
ments."   (Federalist,  No.  73.) 

And  again,  in  No.  C2  of  the  same  work,  he  observes : 
"  The  facility  and  excess  of  law-making  seem  to  be  the  dis- 
eases to  which  our  governments  are  most  liable." 

Jefferson  himself,  the  greatest  democrat  whom  the  de- 
mocracy of  America  has  as  yet  produced,  pointed  out  the 
same  dangers. 

"  The  instability  of  our  laws,"  said  he,  "  is  really  a  very 
serious  inconvenience.  I  think  that  we  ought  to  have  ob- 
viated it  by  deciding  that  a  whole  year  should  always  be 
allowed  to  elapse  between  the  bringing  in  of  a  bill  and  the 
final  passing  of  it.  It  should  afterwards  be  discussed  and 
put  to  the  vote  without  the  possibility  of  making  any  al- 
teration in  it ;  and  if  the  circumstances  of  the  case  required 
a  more  speedy  decision,  the  question  should  not  be  decided 
by  a  simple  majority,  but  by  a  majority  of  at  least  two 
thirds  of  both  houses." 


PUBLIC   OFFICERS   UNDER    THE    CONTROL    OF   THE   AMERICAN 

DEMOCRACY. 

Simple  Exterior  of  Am' rican  public  OflBcers.  — No  official  Costume.— All 
public  Officers  are  remunerated.  —  Political  Consequences  of  this  Sys- 
tem. —  No  public  Career  exists  in  America.  —  Results  of  this  Fact. 

Public  officers  in  the  United  States  are  confounded  with 
the  crowd  of  citizens;  they  have  neither  palaces,  nor 
guards,  nor  ceremonial  costiunes.  This  simple  exterior  of 
persons  in  authority  is  connected,  not  only  with  the  pecu- 
liarities of  the  American  character,  but  with  the  funda- 
mental  principles   of  society.      In  the  estimation  of  the 


^'i«mm<umummikmiuMM,aA!>, 


OOVEBNMENT  OF  THE  DEMOCBACY  IK  A.MEUICA.   263 

democracy,  a  government  is  not  a  benefit,  but  a  neces^ 
it  ofR  ""^^""f'Sr^e  of  power  must  be  granted  to  pub- 
c  office,,  for  they  would  be  of  no  use  without  it.  But 
the  ostensible  semblance  of  authority  is  by  no  means  in 
d^nsablo  to  the  conduct  of  affairs^  and^tTs  "eX  y" 
offensive  to  the  susceptibility  of  the  public.  The  public 
office.^  themselves  are  well  aware,  that  they  enjoy  the  s u- 
perionty  over  their  fellow-citizens  which  they  derive  from 
their  authority    only  on  condition  of  putting  *  mselv 

A  public  officer  in  the  United  States  is  unifoi-mly  simple  in 
his  manners,  accessible  to  all  the  world,  attentive  to  dl  re- 
quests, and  obbging  in  his  replies.  I  was  pleased  by  these 
diaracteristics  of  a  democratic  government;  I  adled 
the  manly  mdependence  which  respects  the  officrmore 

ity  than  of  the  man  who  bears  them 

I  believe  that  the  influence  wliic'h  costumes  really  exer- 
cise m  an  age  like  that  in  which  w.  hve,  ha.  been  a  gc^ 
deal  exaggerated.    I  never  percejved  that  a  public  cffictr 
m  America  w^  the  less  respect,..!,  whilst  in  the  disci" 
of  his  duties,  because  his  owr,  merit  was  set  off  by  no  ad! 
venwious  signs.     On  the  «her  hai,d,  it  is  veiy  doubtfol 
whether  a  peculiar  dres,  Muces  public  men  to  ~ 
tenselves,  when  they  ^re  not  otherwise  inclined  to  do'^  o 
Wh  „  a  magistrute  (r.„d  i„  France  such  instances  are  no 
mre)  snubs  the  parties  before  him,  or  indulges  his  wit  a 
th«r  expense  or  sh,„g3  his  shoulders  at  thl  pleas  of  d^ 

ated,  I  should  l,l,e  to  deprive  him  of  his  robes  of  office,  to 
e  whe  her,  wh^n  he  is  reduced  to  the  garb  of  a  p^Ue 

S  o;::L""'  ^'^"'  '-  ''-'-  "'  *«  " 
tume,  but  eve/ry  one  of  them  receives  a  salary.     And  this, 


ffi.,  •■ 


i  ii. 


'  I 


I    i   M 


264 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


also,  Still  more  naturally  than  what  precedes,  results  from 
democratic  principles.  A  democracy  may  allow  some  mag- 
isterial pomp,  and  clothe  its  officers  in  silks  and  gold,  with- 
out seriously  compromising  its  principles.  Privileges  of 
this  kind  are  transitory  ;  they  belong  to  the  place,  and  not 
to  the  man.  But  if  public  officers  are  unpaid,  a  class  of 
rich  and  independent  public  functionaries  will  be  created, 
who  will  constitute  the  basis  of  an  aristocracy ;  and  if  the 
people  still  retain  their  right  of  election,  the  choice  can 
be  made  only  from  a  certain  class  of  citizens. 

When  a  democratic  republic  renders  gratuitous  offices 
which  had  formerly  been  remunerated,  it  may  safely  be 
inferred  that  the  state  is  advancing  towards  monarchy. 
And  when  a  monarchy  begins  to  remunerate  such  officers 
as  had  hitherto  been  unpaid,  it  is  a  sure  sign  that  it  is  ap- 
proaching a  despotic  or  a  republican  form  of  government. 
The  substitution  of  paid  for  unpaid  functionaries  is  of  it- 
self, in  my  opinion,  sufficient  to  constitute  a  real  revolution. 

I  lock  upon  the  entire  absence  of  unpaid  offices  in 
America  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  signs  of  the  abso- 
lute dominion  which  democracy  exercises  in  that  country. 
All  public  services,  of  whatsoever  nature  they  may  be,  are 
paid ;  so  that  every  one  has  not  merely  a  right,  but  also 
the  means,  of  performing  them.  Although,  in  democratic 
states,  all  the  citizens  are  qualifie<l  to  hold  offices,  all  are 
not  tempted  to  try  for  them.  The  numbe'*  and  the  capaci- 
ties of  the  candidates,  more  than  the  conditions  of  the  can- 
didateship,  restrict  the  choice  of  the  electors. 

In  nations  where  the  principle  of  election  extends  to 
everything,  no  political  career  can,  properly  speaking,  be 
said  to  exist.  Men  arrive  as  if  by  chance  at  the  post 
which  they  hold,  and  they  are  by  no  means  sure  of  retain- 
ing it.  This  is  especially  true  when  the  elections  are  held 
annually.  The  consequence  is,  that,  in  tranquil  times, 
public  functions  offer  but  few  lures  to  ambition.     In  the 


«OVBBNMKNT  OP  T„B  DKMOCKAOT  n,   «,EB,CA.   265 

cnte  and  strong  paasionr  from  fhe  I^„r  f      «"""  '"'■ 
it  frequently  l,a, mens  tl,/,  T  "'^  P""^"  '  "«'' 

wished  to  be  eleotPr?  •  l    .    .  -^  ''''*''*'^''  ^^^^  '^  they 

thisdeaei'lt;^:::-  -7'"  '<-  -didatesi 

THE   AMERICAN    DEMOCRACY. 
For  what  Reaaon  the  arbitrary  Pow«r  «r  ^    • 

con -derbiettu^z/rer  :■:  r^'T*^'  -™- 

lute  government  of  nLC^r;";'^'  ""''"'■  *''«  «b»o- 

causes.  """^  '^'""  P'<'<=«^'J'  from  ve.y  simUar 

In  despotic  states,  the  fortuno  r.e  „„ 
lie  officers  are  not  more  sl^e  tha!  "  """'^ '  ^""^ 

»vereig„,  w,,o  has  under  it  conlfZ  r  '"^T'-     ^''"' 
ty,  and  sometimes  the  honor  of  ,t  ^^•  ""^  P'"^^ 

•^"C,t.-srs;;.r.=r"-""- 


1)1    JM 


260 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMKIMCA. 


eign  is  so  much  attached  to  his  power,  that  lie  dislikes  the 
constraint  even  of  liis  own  reo-ulations,  and  likes  to  see  hia 
agents  acting  irregularly,  and,  as  it  were,  by  chance,  in 
order  to  be  sure  that  their  actions  will  never  counteract  his 
desires. 

In  democracies,  as  the  majority  has  every  year  the  right 
of  taking  away  the  power  of  the  officers  whom  it  had  ap- 
pointed, it  has  no  reason  to  fear  any  abuse  of  their  author- 
ity. As  the  people  are  always  able  to  signify  their  will  to 
those  who  conduct  the  government,  they  prefer  leaving 
them  to  their  own  free  action,  instead  of  prescribing  an 
invariable  rule  of  conduct,  wliich  would  at  once  fetter 
their  activity  and  the  popular  authority. 

It  may  even  be  observed,  on  attentive  consideration,  that, 
under  the  rule  of  a  democracy,  the  arbitrary  action  of  the 
magistrate  must  be  still  greater  than  in  despotic  states. 
In  the  latter,  the  sovereign  can  immediately  punish  all  the 
faults  with  which  he  becomes  acquainted,  but  he  cannot 
hope  to  become  acquainted  with  all  those  which  are  com- 
mitted. In  democracies,  on  the  contrary,  the  sovereign 
power  is  not  only  supreme,  but  universally  present.  The 
American  functionaries  are,  in  fact,  much  more  free  in  the 
sphere  of  action  which  the  law  traces  out  for  them  than 
any  public  officer  in  Europe.  Very  frequently,  the  object 
which  they  are  to  accomplish  is  simply  pointed  out  to  them, 
and  the  choice  of  the  means  is  left  to  their  own  discretion. 

In  New  England,  for  instance,  the  selectmen  of  each 
township  ax^  bound  to  draw  up  the  list  of  persons  who  are 
to  serve  on  the  jury ;  the  only  rule  wliich  is  laid  down  to 
guide  them  in  their  choice  is,  that  they  are  to  select  citizens 
possessing  the  elective  franchise  and  enjoying  a  fair  repu- 
tation.* In  France,  the  lives  and  liberties  of  the  subjects 
would  be  thought  to  be  in  danger,  if  a  public  officer  of  any 

*  It  should  be  added,  that  the  jurors  are  afterwards  ir&vm  from  these 
lists  bv  lot. 


GOVKRNIIKNT   OF   TIIK   DEMOCRACY   IN   A5IERICA.       267 

kin>l  was  intrusted  witli  so  formidable  a  right.  In  New 
i-MKland  the  same  magistrates  are  empowered  to  post  the 
na.nes  on^bitual  drunkards  in  pubh-J  houses,  and'topr. 
tl.  mha  .ants  of  a  town  from  supplying  them  with 
liquor.  buch  a  censorial  power  would  be  revoltincr  to  the 
population  of  the  most  absolute  monarchies;  her:,  how- 
ever,  it  is  submitted  to  without  difficulty 

Nowhere  has  so  much  been  left  by  the  law  to  the  arbi- 
traiy  de  erm.nation  of  the  magistrate  as  in  democratic  re- 
publics, because  they  have  nothing  to  fear  from  arbitrary 
power.     It  may  even  be  asserted  that  the  freedom  of  tli 
rnapstrate  increases  as  the  elective  fi-anchise  is  extended, 
and  as  the  duration  of  the   time   of  office  is   shortened 
Hence  arises  the  great  difficulty  of  converting  a  demo- 
era  ic  republic  into  a  monarchy.     The  magistrat^  ceases  to 
be  elective,  but  he  retains  the  rights  and  the  habits  of  an 
elected  officer,  which  lead  directly  to  despotism. 

It  IS  only  in  limited  monarchies  that  the  law,  which  pre- 
scribes  the  sphere  in  which  public  officers  are  to  act,  super- 
intends all  their  measures.     The  cause  of  this  may  be  easily 
detected      In  hmited  monarchies,  the  power  is  divided  be^ 
tween   he  king  and  the  people,  both  of  whom  are  interest- 
ed  m  the  stability  of  the  magistrate.     The  king  does  not 
venture  to  place  the  pubMc  officers  under  the  control  of  the 
people  lest  they  should  be  tempted  to  betray  his  interests  ; 
on  t^^  other  hand,  the  people  fear  lest  the  magistrate 
should  serve  to  oppress  the  liberties  of  the  country  if  they 
were  entirely  dependent  upon  the  crown:   the/cannot, 

de  locquevUlo's  other  instance  is  not  happily  chosen.     In  England  whid." 
.s  a  h™.tea  monarchy,  the  jury  lists  are  drawn  up  by  the  sheriff  and  sit 
power,  mo.  formidable  in  the  hands  of  one  ma'n  than  of  To  a       I 

LI;       A  "'  '"  '"''"  ""'''  '^  '  -^y  ^"-^--^le  one.     L 

J^ates  m  Amenca  do  not  have  so  much  trusted  to  their  discretion  a^in 
England  or  France.  Their  modes  of  action  are  prescribed  befo  h  J  " 
hvw.  and  defined  with  jealous  care.  -  Am.  Ed.]  "eiorenand  by 


268 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


therefore,  be  said  to  depend  on  either  the  one  or  the  other. 
The  same  cause  which  induces  the  king  and  the  people  to 
render  public  officers  independent,  suggests  the  necessity  of 
such  securities  as  may  prevent  their  independence  from 
encroaching  upon  the  authority  of  the  former,  or  upon  the 
liberties  of  the  latter.  They  consequently  agree  as  to  the 
necessity  of  restricting  the  functionary  to  a  line  of  conduct 
laid  down  beforehand,  and  find  it  for  their  interest  to  im- 
pose upon  him  certain  regulations  which  he  cannot  evade. 


INSTABILITY   OF  THE   ADMINISTRATION    IN   THE   UNITED 

STATES. 

In  America,  the  Public  Acts  of  a  Community  frequently  leave  fewer  Tracci 
than  the  Occurrences  in  a  Family.  —  Newspapers  the  only  Historical 
Remains.  —  Instability  of  the  Administration  prejudicial  to  the  Art  of 
Government. 

The  authority  which  public  men  possess  in  America  is 
so  brief,  and  they  are  so  soon  commingled  with  the  ever- 
changing  population  of  the  country,  that  the  acts  of  a 
community  frequently  leave  fewer  traces  than  the  events 
in  a  private  family.  The  public  administration  is,  so  to 
speak,  oral  and  traditionary.  But  little  is  committed  to 
writing,  and  that  little  is  soon  wafted  away  forever,  like 
the  leaves  of  the  Sibyl,  by  the  smallest  breeze. 

The  only  historical  remains  in  the  United  States  are  the 
newspapers ;  if  a  number  be  wanting,  the  chain  of  time  is 
broken,  and  the  present  is  severed  from  the  past.  I  am 
convinced  that,  in  fifty  years,  it  will  be  more  difficult  to 
collect  authentic  documents  concerning  the  social  condition 
of  the  Americans  at  the  present  day,  than  it  is  to  find  re- 
mains of  the  administration  of  France  during  the  Middle 
Ages ;  and  if  the  United  States  were  ever  invaded  by 
barbarians,  it  would  be  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the 


OOVERNMMT  OP  THE  DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA.       269 

histopr  of  otI,er  nations,  i„  order  to  leam  anything  of  the 
people  wlio  now  inhabit  them.  ng  ot  tne 

thewr*",^",!'^  "'  ','"'  administration  has  penetrated  into 
the  habus  ot  the  people ;  it  even  nppea,.  to  suit  the  gene  1 

no  methodical  system  i,  p„„ued;  no  ai-c-lu'ves  are  form^ 

upon  them.     I  have  amongst  my  papers  several  ori.n„al 
pubhc  documents,  ,vhich  wer.  given  Jo  me  in  the  pS 
offices,  m  answer  to  some  of  my  inquiries.    In  America 
ocety  seems  to  live  from  hand  to  mouth,  like  an Tr^ ;' 
m  the  fie,d.      Nevertheless,  the  art  of  ndministratioTI 
undoubtedly  a  science,  and  no  sciences  can  be  improved 
■f  the  discoveries  and  observations  of  successive  geneSn 
are  not  connected  together,  in  the  order  in  Ihich Ty 
occur      One  man,  m  the  short  space  of  his  life,  remark^ 
a  feet,  another  conceives  an  idea;   the  former  invents  a 
means  of  execution,  the  latter  ..duces  a  truth  to  a  fo,™!^ 
^d  mankmd  gather  the  fruits  of  individual  experience  on 
their  way,  and  gradually  fonn  the  sciences.     But  the  p^,^ 
sons  who  conduct  the  administration  in  America  can  s!" 
dom  afford  any  instruction  to  each  other;  and  when  tl   v 
assume  the  direction  of  soc'ety.  they  simply  possess  thZ 

account  of  their  number  and  magnitude.  -  Am.  Ed. 


270 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


attainments  which  are  widely  disseminated  in  the  commu- 
nity, and  no  knowledge  peculiar  to  themselves.  Democ- 
racy, pushed  to  its  furthest  limits,  is  therefore  prejudicial  to 
the  art  of  government ;  and,  for  this  reason,  it  is  better 
adapted  to  a  people  already  versed  in  the  conduct  of  ad- 
ministration, than  to  a  nation  which  is  uninitiated  in  public 
affairs. 

This  remark,  indeed,  is  not  exclusively  applicable  to  the 
science  of  administration.  Although  a  democratic  govern- 
ment is  founded  upon  a  very  simple  and  natural  principle, 
it  always  presupposes  the  existence  of  a  high  degree  of 
culture  and  enlightenment  in  society.*  At  first,  it  might 
be  supposed  to  belong  to  the  earliest  ages  of  the  world ; 
but  maturer  observation  will  convince  us  that  it  could  only 
come  last  in  the  succession  of  human  history. 


CHARGES   LEVIED  BY  THE  STATE  UNDER  THE   RULE   OF  THE 
AMERICAN    DEMOCRACY. 


In  all  Communities,  Citizens  are  divisible  into  certain  Classes.  —  Habits  of 
each  of  these  Classes  in  the  Direction  of  Public  Finances.  —  Why  Pub- 
lic Expenditure  must  tend  to  increase  when  the  People  govern.  —  ^Vhat 
renders  tlie  Extravagance  of  a  Democracy  less  to  be  feared  in  America. 
—  Public  Expenditure  under  a  Democracy. 

Before  we  can  tell  whether  a  democratic  government  is 
economical  or  not,  we  must  establish  a  standard  of  com- 
parison. The  question  would  be  of  easy  solution,  if  we 
were  to  draw  a  parallel  between  a  democratic  republic  and 
an  absolute  monarchy.  The  public  expenditure  in  the  for- 
mer would  be  found  to  be  more  considerable  than  under 
the  latter ;  such  is  the  case  with  all  free  states  compared 
with  those  which  are  not  so.     It  is  certain  that  despotism 

*  It  is  needless  to  observe,  that  I  speak  here  of  the  democratic  form  of 
(i;oyeniment  as  applied  to  a  people,  and  not  merely  to  n  tribe. 


GOVERNMENT   OF  THE  DEMOCKAOY  IN  AMEEICA.       271 

ruim  individuals  by  preventing  them  from  produei„» 
wealth  much  more  than  by  depriving  them  of  what  the; 
have  already  produced ;  it  dries  up  the  source  of  riches, 
whdst  .t  usually  respects  acquired  property.  Freedom,  on 
the  cont.-ary,  produces  far  mo.-e  goods  than  it  destroys; 
and  the„at.o„swh.ch  are  favored  by  free  institutions  in 
vanab  y  find  that  their  resources  increase  even  more  rap- 
idly  than  their  taxes.  '^ 

My  present  object  is  to  compare  free  nations  with  each 

:herni':f  "atr  *^  '-"-^^^  °^  "^-"^-^  -- 

Communities,  as  well  as  organic  bodies,  are  subject  in 
their  formation  to  certain  fixed  rules,  from  which  they  can- 
not depart.     They  are  composed  of  certain  elements  which 
are  common  to  them  at  all  times  and  under  all  ch-cum- 
stences      The  people  may  always  be  mentally  diWded  into 
three  classes.     The  fim  of  these  classes  consists  of  the 
wealthy;  the  second,  of  those  who  are  m  easy  circum! 
stances;  and  the  third  is  composed  of  those  who  have  little 
or  no  property,  and  who  subsist  by  the  work  which  they 
perform  for  the  two  superior  orders.     The  proportion  of 
he  mdividuals  m  these  several  divisions  may  vary  accord- 
<ng  to  the  condition  of  society;   but  the  divisions  them- 
selves can  never  be  oMiterated. 
It  is  evident  that  each  of  these  classes  will  exercise  an 

1  o^t??    ■■ '"  T  r™  '"^""'='^  "P™  «•«  administra- 
tion of  the  finances  of  the  state.    If  the  first  of  the  three 

thai  k  wt  Tr""  *'  '''^''"'™  P°"-'  "  ^  P'-obable 
hat  ,t  w  1  not  be  .paring  of  the  pubUc  fimds,  because  the 

sum  of  superflmties,  and  are,  in  fact,  but  little  felt.  If  the 
second  ckss  has  the  power  of  making  the  laws,  it  wiU  cer- 
tainly not  be  lavish  of  taxes,  because°not]ung  ^  so  onerol 
as  a  large  impost  levied  upon  a  small  income.  The  ^ov- 
emment  of  the  middle  classes  appears  to  me  the  most  !c^ 


272 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


nomical,  I  will  not  say  the  most  enlightened,  and  certainly 
not  the  most  generous,  of  free  governments. 

Let  us  now  suppose  that  the  legislative  authority  is 
vested  in  the  lowest  order :  there  are  two  strikins  reasons 
which  show  that  the  tendency  of  the  expenditures  will  be 
to  increase,  not  to  diminish. 

As  the  great  majority  of  those  who  create  the  laws  have 
no  taxable  property,  all  the  money  which  is  spent  for  the 
community  appears  to  be  spent  to  their  advantage,  at  no 
cost  of  their  own ;  and  those  who  have  some  little  prop- 
erty readily  find  means  of  so  regulating  the  taxes,  that  they 
weigh  upon  the  wealthy  and  profit  the  poor ;  although  the 
rich  cannot  take  the  same  advantage  when  they  are  in  pos- 
session of  the  government. 

In  co\mtries  in  wliich  the  poor  *  should  have  the  exclu- 
sive power  of  making  the  laws,  no  great  economy  of  pub- 
lic expenditure  ought  to  be  expected:  that  expenditure 
will  always  be  considerable ;  either  because  the  taxes  can- 
not Aveigh  upon  those  who  levy  tiiem,  or  because  they  are 
levied  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  reach  these  }.oorer 
classes.  In  other  words,  the  government  of  the  democ- 
racy is  the  only  one  under  which  the  power  wliich  votes 
the  taxes  escapes  the  payment  of  them. 

In  vain  will  it  be  objected,  that  the  true  interest  of  the 
people  is  to  spare  the  fortunes  of  the  rich,  since  they  must 
suffer  in  the  long  run  from  the  general  impoverishment 
which  will  ensue.  Is  it  not  the  true  interest  of  kinjrs,  also, 
to  render  their  subjects  happy,  and  of  the  nobles  to  admit 
recniits  into  their  order  on  suitable  grounds  ?  If  remote 
advantages  had  power  to  prevail  over  the  passions  and  the 

*  The  word  poor  is  used  here,  and  tliroughout  the  remainder  of  this  chap- 
ter, in  a  relative,  not  in  an  absolute  sense.  Poor  men  in  America  would 
often  appear  rich  in  comparison  with  the  poor  of  Europe ;  but  they  may 
with  propriety  be  styled  poor  in  comparison  with  their  more  affluent  coun- 
trymea. 


GOVERNMENT  OP  THE  DEMOCBACY  IN  AMERICA.   273 

erigencies  of  the  m„«,ent,  no  such  thing  as  a  tyrannical 

Zr  iT  ""  T'"r  "■""™'=^  ^™'^  ever  eST     ■" 
Again,  u  may  be  objected  that  the  poor  never  have  the 

universal  suffrage  has  been  established,  the  maioritv  un 
questionably  exercises  tl.o  legislative  a^hority ;  a  Jif  i 
be  proved  that  the  poor  always  constitute  the  Tlritr 
nmy  .t  not  be  added,  with  perfect  truth,  that,  i^  ZloZ' 
tnes  ,„  which  they  possess  the  elective  Lichise,  they  pZ 
sess   the    ole  power  of  making  the  laws  ?    It  is  certain 
that,  in  all  the  nations  of  the  world,  the  greater  numW  hT 
a  ways  consisted  of  those  pei^ons  wholold  no  propert 
or  of  those  whose  property  is  insufficient  to  exen^pt  them 
from  the  necessity  of  working  i„  order  to  procn"  a  com 

■^  StTftr-^-  :'T'^  -*^^  is"he:e^" 

societv  '  ""^  ''"'"■  "'*  "'^  government  of 

The  disastrous  influence  which  popular  authority  may 
some  imes  exercise  upon  the  finances  of  a  state  wi^  cleZy 
seen  in  some  of  the  democratic  republics  of  anZut  t 
which  the  public  treasure  was  exhausted  in  orferSeve 
ind^ent  citizens,  or  to  supply  games  and  theatricd  it™ 
ments  for  the  populace.    It  is  true,  that  the  represeS™ 

time,  the  influence  of  popular  passions  is  less  felt  in  the 
conduct  of  pubhc  affairs ;  but  it  may  well  be  believed  that 
■n  the  end,  the  delegate  will  confo™  to  the  prindpleT  of 

drJS'l'""'™^"''  of  democracy  is,  however,  less  to  be 

fhe  ric  f '  ^r";  ™  "•'  """  ''™'''  ""^  <^»n'ributions  of 
tte  „  1  are  then  less  needed,  and,  on  the  other,  it  is  more 
diffi  ult  to  impose  taxes  which  shall  not  reach  the  impoTeT 
On  this  account,  universal  suffrage  would  be  le.s  dan^  r« 


■|!?i 


r  l\ 


I        ■  W'jj 


'tm 


'J74 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA 


.1 


in  France  than  in  England,  where  neai-ly  all  the  taxable 
property  is  vested  in  the  hands  of  a  few.  America,  where 
the  great  majority  of  the  citizens  possess  some  fortune,  is 
in  a  still  more  favorable  position  than  France. 

There  are  further  causes  which  may  increase  the  amount 
of  public  expenditure  in  democratic  countries.  When  an 
aristocracy  governs,  those  who  conduct  the  aftairs  of  state 
are  exempted,  by  their  very  station  in  society,  from  any 
want :  content  with  their  lot,  power  and  renown  are  the 
only  objects  for  which  they  strive ;  placed  far  above  the 
obscure  crowd,  they  do  not  always  clearly  perceive  how 
the  well-being  of  the  mass  of  the  people  will  redound  to 
their  own  grandeur.  They  are  not,  indeed,  callous  to  the 
sufferings  of  the  poor  ;  but  they  cannot  feel  those  miseries 
as  acutely  as  if  they  were  themselves  partakers  of  them. 
Provided  that  the  people  appear  to  submit  to  their  lot, 
the  rulers  are  satisfied,  and  demand  nothing  further  fi'om 
the  government.  An  aristocracy  is  more  intent  upon  the 
means  of  maintaining  than  of  improving  ifi  condition. 

When,  on  the  contrary,  the  people  are  invested  with  the 
supreme  authority,  they  are  perpetually  seeking  for  some- 
thing better,  because  they  feel  the  hardships  of  their  lot. 
The  thirst  for  improvement  extends  to  a  thousand  different 
objects ;  it  descends  to  the  most  trivial  details,  and  especial- 
ly to  those  changes  which  are  accompanied  with  considera- 
ble expense,  since  the  object  is  to  improve  the  condition  of 
the  poor,  who  cannot  pay  for  the  improvement.  More- 
over, all  democratic  communities  are  agitated  by  an  ill- 
defined  excitement,  and  a  kind  of  feverish  impatience,  that 
creates  a  multitude  of  innovations,  almost  all  of  which  are 
expensive. 

In  monarchies  and  aristocracies,  those  who  are  ambitious 
flatter  the  natural  taste  which  the  rulers  have  for  power 
and  renown,  and  thus  often  incite  them  to  very  costly 
JAiulertakings.     la  democracies,  where  the  rulers  are  poor 


COVMNMEW   OF   THE  DEMOCRACY   IN  AMEB!CA.       2T5 

w,  1  m,„o,e  thoir  well-being,  and  these  improvements  can- 

":„'"r-  '"■'"""  '"""^^-  '^''^"  '^  p-p'«  "»Sn„ 

wants  whlir  7";"™./l'>=y  discover  a  multitnde  of 
wants  «h,ch  they  had  not  before  been  conscious  of  and  to 

of  2    r  "T^VT'"  ■""^'  "-  '""•  '»  'he  clL 
«t  tne  state.     Hence  u  happens  that  the  public  char.-es 

■nci.ease  m  proportion  to  the  civiUzation  o^  the  cou3 

and  imposts  are  augmented  as  l<now,edge  becirl^' 

f^^  -oS  ralmr-tes-:= 
essen  us  expe„dit„i.s  even  when  it  wishes  "  do  I^bi 
ca-e  .t  does  not  understand  the  art  of  being  economic^ 

accomphsh;  ,n  the  latter,  the  expense  brings  no'^eZ, 

THE  SALARIES   OF    PUBLIC   OFFICERS. 

tant  Functionaries.  -  Reason  of  tl.!«        n  """^  ""P""" 

s.aH«  „.  p„.,  oMeer .:  S:,;;^  s'zr;,:  rr "  '^' 

There  is  a  powerful  reason  which  usually  induces  de- 
mocraces  to  economize  upon  the  salaries  of  public  officers 
Those  who  fix  the  amount  of  the  salaries,  beinc  very  ™ 

be  in  receipt  of  those  salaries.     I„  aristocratic  countries 

ha.e  almost  always  a  vague  hope  of  profiting  by  them, 


■I   I 


t'^Mi 


276 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


}^^l 


These  appointments  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  capital  which 
they  create  for  their  own  use,  or  at  least  as  a  resource  for 
their  children. 

It  must  be  allowed,  moreover,  that  a  democratic  state  is 
most  parsimonious  towards  its  principal  agents.  In  Amer- 
ica, the  secondaiy  officers  are  much  better,  and  the  hio-her 
functionaries  much  worse  paid,  than  elsewhere. 

These  opposite  effects  result  from  the  same  cause :  the 
people  fix  the  salaries  of  the  puuiic  officers  in  both  cases ; 
and  the  scale  of  remuneration  is  determined  by  the  com- 
parison of  their  own  wants.  It  is  held  to  be  fair,  that  the 
servants  of  the  public  should  be  placed  in  the  same  easy 
circumstances  as  the  public  themselves;*  but  when  the 
question  turns  upon  the  salaries  of  the  great  officers  of 
state,  this  rule  fails,  and  chance  alone  guides  the  popular 
decision.  The  poor  have  no  adequate  conception  of  the 
wants  which  the  higher  classes  of  society  feel.  The  sum 
which  is  scanty  to  the  rich  appears  enormous  to  him 
whose  wants  do  not  extend  beyond  the  necessaries  of  life ; 
and  in  his  estimation,  the  Governor  of  a  State,  with  his 
twelve  hundred  or  two  thousand  dollars  a  year,  is  a  fortu- 
nate and  enviable  being,  f  If  you  try  to  convince  him 
that  the  representative  of  a  great  people  ought  to  appear 
with  some  splendor  in  the  eyes  of  foreign  nations,  he  will 
at  first  assent  to  your  assertion ;  but  when  he  reflects  on 

♦  The  cany  circumstances  in  which  secondary  functionaries  are  placed  in 
the  United  States  result,  also,  from  another  cause,  which  is  independent 
of  the  general  tendencies  of  democracy :  every  kind  of  private  business  is 
very  lucrative,  and  the  state  would  not  be  served  at  all  if  it  did  not  pay  its 
servants  well.  The  country  is  in  the  position  of  a  commercial  house,  which 
is  obliged  to  sustain  a  costly  competition,  notwithstanding  its  tastes  are  eco- 
nomical. 

t  The  State  of  Ohio,  which  contains  a  million  of  inhabitants,  gives  its 
Governor  a  salary  of  only  1,200  dollars  a  year.  [Now  that  its  population 
exceeds  two  millions,  the  Governor's  salary  has  been  raised  to  1,800  dollars 
—  Am.  Ed.] 


OOVONMKNT   OF  THE  DEMOCBACV  IN  AMKarOA.       277 

ImrdT:-,  t"""  'r'''^'  »"'•  *»  ^"■''«  -"-in.-  "f  h« 
iiara  toij,  he  remembers  ill  ti,,.*.  i  11,  h"  '"  '"» 

begin  .0  JoJutZr  ''"'''•  ■""  ""  '''"^' 

ari™:et1r?r™  '"  "'^  ^"'■'■=<'  ^"''-'  -■"-  *«  sal. 

parison.  ^       ^    ^'^^'^  '"  ^™"^«'  to  complete  the  com- 

UNITED   STATES. 

Treamry  Department. 
Messenger, .... 
Clerk  with  lowest  salary, 
Clerk  with  highest  salary 
Chief  CJ-irk,  .     . 
Secretary  of  State,    .     . 
The  President,    .... 


$700 
.  1,000 
1,600 
2,000 
6,000 
25,000 


FRANCE. 

Ministire  de  Finances. 
Huissicr,     .     .     .     1.500  fr.  ($300) 
Clerk  with  lowest  sala- 
ry,    1,000  to  1,800  fr.  ($  200-360) 
Clerk  with  highest  sala- 
ry,    3,200  to  3,600  fr.  ($  640  -  720) 
Secr(<tairc-gen(<ral,  20,000  fr.  ($4,000) 
The  Minister,       80,000  fr.  ($i  6,000) 

[Since  M  de  Tnr        -n  ^'"^'  '''°'^'««<>fr-  ($2,400,000) 

lomce  m.  de  Tocqueville  wrote,  all  these  snlnrio..     <•  a       • 

except  that  of  the  President  h«v-  i  ""^  American  officers, 

tion  made  to  them  if  I  more  Z  T'^'''  "''''''''  '  '^'  ^'^  '^^<^^ 

expenses  of  Hving. -IL  eLj     "        "''  *°  "^''^  "^  ^^  *'-  ---«<» 

I  have  perhaps  done  wrong  in  selecting.  P^nnn 
parison.     In  Prance,  a.  the  demo^Ir IdeTc      o7  tl'T"  ^'.^°™- 
ever-mereasing  influence  upon  the  governmenT   he  Chlmh        "J  ''""'°  '^^ 
8.t.on  to  raise  the  low  salaries,  and  to  102^1  ™'"  '''""^  "  '^'^P^' 

Minister  of  Finance,  who  rce"  d  'eo  ooo  f  'T'u  °"'"  ^''^^^  ^^« 
80.000  fr.  in  1835 ;  the  m-ecZ^^^  ^^  ^^"'"^  ''^  ,^P-'  -eivea 
50.000  fr.,  now  receive  only  20  000  fr  '  ''''''  '^'''  ''''^^ 


:h 


(!■ 


278 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMKRICA. 


ones  often  have  not  more  than  enough  to  procure  tlio 
iieces^:arle8  of  life.  Tlie  reason  of  tliis  fact  is  easily  dis- 
co vri  able  from  causes  very  analogous  to  those  which  I 
have  just  pointed  out.  As  a  democracy  is  unable  to  con- 
ceive the  pleasures  of  the  rich,  or  to  witness  them  without 
envy,  so  an  aristocracy  is  slow  to  understand  the  privations 
of  the  poor,  or  rather  is  unacquainted  with  them.  The 
poor  man  is  not,  properly  speaking,  of  the  same  kind  as 
the  rich  one ;  but  he  is  a  being  of  another  species.  An 
aristocracy  therefore  cares  but  little  for  the  condition  of  its 
subordinate  agents  ;  and  their  salaries  are  raised  only  when 
they  refuse  to  serve  for  too  scanty  a  remuneration. 

It  is  the  parsimonious  conduct  of  democracy  towards  its 
principal  officers,  which  has  caused  more  economical  pro- 
pensities to  be  attributed  to  it  than  it  really  possesses.  It 
is  true  that  it  scarcely  allows  the  means  of  decent  main- 
tenance to  those  who  conduct  its  affairs ;  but  it  lavishes 
enormous  sums  to  succor  the  wants  or  facilitate  the  enjoy- 
ments of  the  people.*  The  money  raised  by  taxation  may 
be  better  employed ;  but  it  is  not  economically  used.  In 
general,  democracy  gives  largely  to  the  people,  and  very 
sparingly  to  those  who  govern  them.  The  reverse  is  the 
case  in  aristocratic  countries,  where  the  money  of  the  state 
profits  the  persons  who  are  at  the  head  of  affairs. 


•  See  the  American  budgets  for  the  support  of  paujjcrs,  and  for  gratui- 
tous instruction.  In  1831,  over  $250,000  were  spent  in  the  State  of  New 
York  for  the  maintenance  of  the  poor;  and  at  least  $1,000,000  were  de- 
voted to  public  instruction.  [In  1858,  the  total  expenditure  for  the  relief  of 
the  poor  in  the  State  of  New  York  was  $1,491,391;  and  for  common 
schools,  $  3,653,995.  —  Am.  Ed.]  The  State  of  New  York  contained  only 
1,900,000  inliabitants  in  the  year  1830,  which  is  not  more  than  double  the 
amount  of  population  in  the  D€pariement  du  Nord  in  France.  [la  1855,  the 
population  of  New  York  was  3,466,212.] 


i^^mmmti'Jiiiiu. 


OOVEKXAIKNT   OF   THK  DEMOCRACY   IN  AMKUICA. 


279 


gayetfes  of  an  hour.     Othe« Tl  .    !     ''''"'  "P""  "'^ 
'o  more  ,„iet  enjo^^t^d  I    ^21' rrfol 
appeanng  ,o  be  pleased.    In  some  countrir  I,S   ™  w 
f  7»"  '^  l-uty  of  public  edifice,;  toZ     to" 
lung  wh.ch  ,s  un,>roductive  is  regarded  wi  h  conteZ 

-p::;i;iV:'^ic^s:-,i:irnr^^^^^^^ 

taxes  are  under  the  control  of  the  neonle  l.n^  K  ? 

people  take  no  delight  in  festivit  es.'Tf  1;^^^^^^^^^^^ 
ornament  from  their  architecture  and  !    ''^^ ''P"^^^*^  ^11 
but  praCca,  and  home,,  adC^leMt  tZ^Z 
n-e  under  democratic  institutions,  but  because    hey^T 
commercial  nation.     The  habits  of  private  life  a.^  "1 
jnued  ,n  public ;  and  we  ought  car'efiUly  t^^  ^sTng^^fc 
la    economy  which  depends  upon  their  iLtitutasTm 
*a    .^ich  .  the  natund  result  of  their  habitudes  td 


280 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


WHETHER  THE   EXPENDITURE   OP  THE   UNITED   STATES   OAN 
KE    COMPARED    WITH    THAT    OF    FRANCE. 

Two  Points  to  bo  establiHiied  in  orJer  to  estimate  tlio  Extent  of  the  Public 
Charges,  viz.  the  NtUional  Wealth,  and  the  Rate  of  Taxation.  —  The 
Wealth  and  tl>e  Charges  of  France  not  accurately  known.  —  Why  the 
Wealth  and  Charges  of  the  Union  cannot  Ihj  accurately  known Re- 
searches of  the  Author  to  discover  the  Amount  of  Taxation  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. —  General  Symptoms  wiiich  may  serve  to  indicate  the  Amount 
of  the  Public  Charges  in  a  given  Nation.  —  Result  of  this  Investigation 
for  the  Union. 


Many  attempts  have  recently  been  made  in  France  to 
compare  the  pubUc  expenditure  of  that  country  with  the 
expenditure  of  the  United  States.  All  these  attempts 
have,  however,  been  fruitless ;  and  a  few  words  will  suffice 
to  show  that  they  could  not  have  a  satisfactory  result. 

In  order  to  estimate  the  amount  of  the  public  charges  of 
a  people,  two  preliminaries  are  indispensable :  it  is  neces- 
sary, in  the  first  place,  to  know  the  wealth  of  that  people ; 
and,  in  the  second,  to  learn  what  portion  of  that  wealth  is 
devoted  to  the  expenditure  of  the  state.  To  show  the 
amount  of  taxation  without  showing  the  resources  which 
are  destined  to  meet  it,  would  be  a  futile  task ;  for  it  is  not 
the  expenditure,  but  the  relation  of  the  expenditure  to  the 
revenue,  which  it  is  desirable  to  knuvv.  The  same  rate  of 
taxation  which  may  easily  be  supported  by  a  wealthy  con- 
tributor will  reduce  a  poor  one  to  extreme  misery. 

The  wealth  of  nations  is  composed  of  several  elements  ; 
real  property  is  the  first  of  these,  and  personal  property  the 
second.  It  is  difficult  to  know  precisely  the  amount  of 
cultivable  land  in  a  country,  and  its  natural  or  acquired 
value  ;  and  it  is  still  more  difficult  to  estimate  the  whole 
personal  property  which  is  at  the  disposal  of  a  nation,  and 
which  eludes  the  strictest  analysis  by  the  diversity  and  the 
number  of  shapes  under  which  it  may  occur.     And,  in- 


OOVEBNMKNT  OF  THE  DEMOCRAOV  ,N  AME«,CA.   2«] 

deed,  we  find  that  the  nations  of  Europe  „hW,  |.»v-  1 
.He  longest  civilised.  i„eU.ding  even  thl  il  v^  eC  he  J 
ni.n,stnu,„n  is  ,nost  eentndii,,  have  not  s„  e   td,t  ™t' 
m  determnung  the  ex„ct  amount  of  their  wealtn.  ^ 

In  Amenca,  the  attempt  has  neve,-  hecn  mad.     for  how 
woud  snch  an  investigation  be  possible  in  „  new  ..it 
«he  e  soeio  y  has  not  yet  settled  into  fixed  and  trnS 

tuui^^d:  r ""  "1"""'  «"^'^™'"^"'  -^ '«'« — S 

dir"e  Tone  enT  ""?-"»-  " -"  command  and 
o-recttoone  end, -a„d  where  statistics  are  not  studied 
because  no  one  ,s  able  to  eolleet  the  necessary  doeume  ,te 
or  find  tune  to  peruse  them?  Thus  the  prim^a J  el  meM^ 
of  the  eaeulafons  which  have  been  made'  in  fL  e  cat 
not  be  obtained  in  the  Union;  the  relative  wealt^'of  the 
two  countnes  is  unknown:  the  property  of  the  former  ^ 

ptin^thrt^r'""'-^-— ---- 

necessary  term  of  the  comparison,  and  I  confine  myself  to 
a  computation  of  the  actual  amount  of  taxation  wi2,t 
.nvest,gati„g  the  ratio  of  the  taxation   toT  'r^l  'u 

faethtated  by  thus  narrowing  the  circle  of  my  researches 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  central  admi^rt^bn  of 
France,  assisted  by  all  the  public  ofiicers  who  at  Us  ds 
posal,  m,ght  determine  precisely  the  amount  of  the  di^  t 
and  .nchrect  taxes  levied  upon  the  citizens.    But  this    n 
vesbga^on,  winch  no  private  individual  can  undertake  has 
not  Intherto  been  completed  by  the  French  gov  rnmem 
or,  at  least,  .ts  results  have  not  been  made  p^nbl  c      We 
are  aciuamted  with  the  sum  total  of  the  charges  of  the 

Z  Z17  *'  """■""J  f  '"«  aepartmentaf  expen  U 
ture,  but  the  expenses  of  the  communa  have  not  been 
computed,  and  the  total  of  the  public  expenses  0?^^ 
is  consequently  unknown.  "■  trance 


^ftSS^SSiiv, 


282 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


If  we  now  turn  to  America,  we  perceive  that  the  diffi 
culties  are  multiplied  and  enhanced.  The  Union  publishes 
an  exact  return  of  the  amount  of  its  expenditure;  the 
budgets  of  the  four  and  twenty  States  publish  similar  re- 
turns ;  but  the  expenses  of  the  counties  and  the  townships 
are  unknown.* 

*  The  Americans,  as  we  have  seen,  have  four  separate  budgets, the 

Union,  the  States,  the  counties,  and  the  townships  having  each  severally 
their  own.     During  my  stay  in  America,  I  made  every  endeavor  to  dis- 
cover the  amount  of  the  public  expenditure  in  tlie  to^vn8hip8  and  counties 
of  the  principal  States  of  the  Union ;  and  I  readily  obtained  the  budget 
of  the  larger  to^vnships,  but  found  it  quite  impossible  to  procure  that  of  the 
smaller  ones,     I  possess,  however,  some  documents  relating  to  county  ex- 
penses which,  although  incomplete,  are  still  curious.     I  have  to  thank  Mr. 
Richards,  former  Mayor  of  Philadelphia,  for  the  budgets  of  thirteen  of  the 
counties  of  Pennsylvania,  —  viz.  Lebanon,  Centre,  Franklin,  Fayette,  Mont- 
gomery, Luzerne,  Dauphin,  Butler,  Alleghany,  Columbia,  Northampton, 
Northumberland,  and  Philadelphia,  —  for  the  year  1830.     Their  population 
at  that  time  consisted  of  495,207  inhabitants.     On  looking  at  the  map  of 
Pennsylvania,  it  will  be  seen  that  these  thirteen  counties  are  scattered  in 
every  direction,  and  so  generally  affected  by  the  causes  which  usually  influ- 
ence the  condition  of  a  country,  that  they  may  fairly  be  supposed  to  furnish 
a  correct  average  of  the  financial  state  of  the  counties  of  Pennsylvania  in 
general.     The  expenses  of  these  counties  amounted,  in  the  year  1830,  to 
about  $  342,900,  or  nearly  69  cents  for  each  inhabitant ;   and,  calculating 
that  each  of  them  contributed  in  the  same  year  about  $  2.43  towards  the 
Union,  and  about  72  cents  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  it  appears  that  they 
each  contributed,  as  their  share  of  all  the  public  expenses  (except  those  of 
the  townships),  the  sum  of  $  3.84.     This  calculation  is  doubly  incomplete, 
as  it  applies  only  to  a  single  year  and  to  one  part  of  the  public  charges ;  but 
it  has  at  least  the  .Ticrit  o  F  not  being  conjectural. 

[This  estimate  probably  errs  by  excess.  In  tlie  American  Almanac  foi 
1847,  a  careful  computation,  founded  on  numerous  returns,  makes  the  aggre- 
gate of  national  expenditure  for  each  inhabitant  97  cents ;  of  State  expen- 
diture, 50  cents  ;  of  town  or  city,  including  county,  expenditure,  92  cents ; 
—  making  the  total  cost  of  government  for  each  person  $  2.39.  Mr.  Liv- 
ingston, in  a  calculation  made  in  1832,  estimated  the  cost  of  government  in 
the  United  States  at  an  average  of  $2.15  for  each  person.  In  1838,  Mr. 
H.  C.  Carey  of  Philadelphia  estimated  it  at  $2.19.  Allowing  for  the  dif 
ferences  created  by  the  lapse  of  years,  these  three  estimates,  founded  on  in 
dependent  data,  agree  remarkably  well.  —  Am.  Ed.] 


«*».«i'?St»aiti»-,f. 


OOVERMNT  OP  THE  DEMOCHACY  IN  Ajn^R.OA.   283 

«J!r/\t'''''  ""''■""'y  <=«»"<"  Oblige  the  State  govem- 
Ment,  to  tlTow  any  light  upon  this  point;  and  evenTf 

^d,.tmaybe  doubted  whether  they  are  able  to  furnish  a 
osif  tZ  rr:^    ^"'•.^P-dentl/of  the  naturaldffitul! 

r„  ,Id  b    .      ,  '  *"  •""""""'  '•■•S»->''"ion  of  the  country 
uodd  h,nder  he  sucees,  of  their  efforts.     The  county  aZ 

own  mag,strates  are  not  appointed  by  the  authorities  of 
the  State  and  are  not  subjected  to  their  control.     It  is 
therefore  allowable  to  suppose,  that,  even  if  the  sL  wa 
des,rous  of  obtaining  the  returns  which  we  require,  ifs  dt 

dmate  officers  whom  .t  wouM  1,«  obliged  to  employ.*    It  is 

AmeZT  "''"  '""  """"'"*"'  *"  """P""  ""  «P™»  of  France  mi 
America  have  at  once  nerecivpfl    th^t  „«       u  .  -^''»u^e  ana 

between  thP  tn.„i  ^J^^'"'''^^'  t^at  no  such  comparison  could  be  drawn 

occurs  in  the  Frenches  em  of  fin!  ^'"^ .^^"'^t''^^.  nothing  of  the  kind 

Man,c^al  expe„.e,  e,i..  to  both  c„„„,ri.,,  b„,  .hej-  a,,  «  .,,™y,  .^„. 

be  asked  what  is  to  be  understood  hvtZ  ^  T  ^^'  ™°'-««^«'-. 

Tha  „-      •     .        «   ,  «aaerstood  by  the  municipal  expenses  of  AmericR 


284 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


f) 


in  fact  useless  to  inquire  what  the  Americans  might  do  to 
forward  this  inquiry,  since  it  is  certain  tliat  they  have  liilh- 
erto  done  nothing.  There  does  not  exist  a  single  individ 
nal  at  the  present  day,  in  America  or  in  Europe,  who  can 
inform  us  what  each  citizen  of  the  Union  annually  con- 
tributes to  the  public  charges  of  the  nation.* 

Hence  we  must  conclude,  that  it  is  no  less  difficult  to 
compare  the  social  expenditure,  than  it  is  to  estimate  the 
relative  wealth,  of  France  and  America.  I  will  even  add, 
that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  attempt  this  comparison; 
for  when  statistics  are  not  based  upon  computations  which 

♦  Even  if  we  knew  the  exact  pecuniary  contributions  of  every  French 
and  American  citizen  to  the  coffers  of  the  state,  we  should  only  come  at  a 
portion  of  tlie  truth.  Governments  not  only  demand  supplies  of  money, 
but  call  for  personal  services,  which  may  be  looked  upon  as  equivalent  to  a 
given  sum.  When  a  state  raises  an  army,  besides  the  pay  of  the  troops 
which  is  fiimislicd  by  the  entire  nation,  each  soldier  must  give  up  his  time, 
the  value  of  which  depends  on  the  use  he  might  make  of  it  if  he  were  not 
in  the  service.  The  same  remark  applies  to  the  militia ;  the  citizen  who  is 
in  the  militia  devotes  a  certain  portion  of  valuable  time  to  the  maintenance 
of  the  public  security,  and  in  reality  surrenders  to  the  state  those  earnings 
which  he  is  prevented  from  gaining.  Many  other  instances  might  be  cited. 
The  governments  of  France  and  America  both  levy  taxes  of  this  kind,  which 
weigli  upon  the  citizens  ;  but  who  can  estimate  with  accuracy  their  relative 
amount  in  the  two  countries  ? 

This,  however,  is  not  the  last  of  the  difficulties  which  prevent  us  from 
comparing  the  expenditure  of  the  Union  with  that  of  France.  The  French 
government  contracts  certain  obligations  which  are  not  assumed  by  the  state 
in  America,  and  vice  versa.  The  French  government  pays  the  clergy ;  in 
America,  the  voluntary  principle  prevails.  In  America,  there  is  a  legal  pro- 
vision  for  the  poor ;  in  France,  they  are  abandoned  to  the  charity  of  the 
public.  The  French  public  officers  are  paid  by  a  fixed  salary;  in  America, 
they  are  allowed  certain  perquisites.  In  France,  contributions  in  labor  take 
place  on  very  few  roads,  — in  America,  upon  almost  all  the  thoroughfarcf : 
in  the  former  country,  the  roads  are  free  to  all  travellers  ;  in  tlie  latter,  turn- 
pikes abound.  All  these  differences  in  the  manner  in  which  taxes  are  levied 
in  the  two  countries  enhance  the  difficulty  of  comparing  their  expenditure  ; 
for  there  are  certain  expenses  which  the  citizens  would  not  be  subject  to,  oi 
which  would  at  any  rate  be  less  considerable,  if  the  state  did  not  undertake 
to  act  in  their  name. 


«J&**&-ii.i***£fria:i^tS 


:.-5.'b*w*sA<.  M'^rtB^SSb*^  ■■' 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  DEMOCBAOV  m  AMERICA.   285 

are  strictly  accurate,  tliey  mislead  insteud  of  guiding  ari<rht 

^todTti"  r""  r"""'"'™  •'y*'^  aff^tatr„"t: 

ac  tude  wluch  ,m..fe  even  the  misstatements  of  statistics  • 

.Miltf  "/"""f"^^  ""^  errors  which  arc    ;;'^ 
e.M  m  the  forms  of  mathematical  truth. 

We  abandon,  therefore,  the  numerical  investi<rati«n  witl, 
tl.e  hope  of  meeting  with  data  of  another  St  H 
absence  of  positive  documents,  ,ve  may  form  antnin 
to  the  proportion  which  the  t;xa,-o:Tft  peol  '  el"  Z 
US  real  wea hh,  by  observing  whether  its  ex  e^l  apTea^ 
tT:  sLeT  ?'  -"ether,  after  having  paid  the  ^^0, 

»d  tr'rie,  rr™'"  T^  *^  ""■^""^  of  subsistence, 
ana  the  rich  the  means  of  enjoyment ;  and  whether  both 

cWse^  seem  contented  with  their  position,  seek  n^ hot 

Tne  e?rw:7of    '  ^7''"''  '''''"'"''  ^  *="  ^'^^ 
dustr^      rr  ,  *"  "''  "'"'  '"P""'  ""'■nployed  by  in- 

dustry.    The  observer  who  draws  his  inferences  from  these 

lZZ'!::"T;t7\V'' "  "'^  --lusion,  tCt 

portion   of  his   nicome  to  the  state  than  the  citizen  of 
France.     Nor  indeed,  can  the  result  be  other^vise 

A  portion  of  the  French  debt  is  the  consequence  of  two 
invasions;  and  the  Union  has  no  similar  caimity  to  fL 
The  position  of  France  obliges  it  to  maintain  a  Iai4  !tand 
.ng  amiy;  the  isolation  of  the  Union  enables  it°to  tvt 
only  SIX  thousand  soldie...  The  French  have  a  fl  J  "f 
three  hundred  sail ;  the  Americans  have  [1^821  onfyflfty- 
two  vessels.  How,  then,  can  the  inhabitant  of  the  Unhfn 
be  a.xed  ^  heavily  as  the  inhabitant  of  France ?    No  "a  " 

It  IS    5  e.xamining  what  actually  takes  place  in  the  Un- 

on,  and  not  by  comparing  the  Union  with  France,  that  we 

can  judge  whether  the  American  government  is  rea^y 

economical.     On  casting  my  eyes  over  the  different    e^ 


286 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


publics  which  form  tlie  confederation,  I  perceive  that  tlu.-ir 
governments  often  lack  perseverance  in  tlieir  undertakings, 
and  that  they  exercise  no   steady  control  over  the   mt-n 
whom  they  employ.     I  naturally  infer  that  they  must  often 
spend  the  money  of  the  people  to  no  purpose,  or  consume 
inore  of  it  than  is  really  necessary  for  tlieir  enterprises. 
Faithful  to  its  popular  origin,  the  government  makes  great 
efforts  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  the  lower  orders,  to  open  to 
them  the  road  to  power,  and  to  diffuse  kno^^ledge  and 
comfort  among  them.     The  poor  are  maintained,  immense 
sums  are  annually  devoted  to  public  instruction,  all  services 
are  remunerated,  and   the  humblest   agents   are   liberally 
paid.     This  kind  of  government  appears  to  be  useful  and 
rational,  but  I  am  constrained  to  admit  that  it  is  expensive. 
Wherever  the  poor  direct  public  affairs,  and  dispose  of 
the  national  resources,  it  appears  certain  that,  as  they  profit 
by  the  expenditure  of  the  state,  they  will  often  augment 
that  expenditure. 

I  conclude,  therefore,  without  having  recourse  to  inaccu- 
rate statistics,  and  without  hazarding  a  comparison  which 
might  prove  incorrect,  that  the  democratic  government  of 
the  Americans  is  not  a  cheap  government,  as  is  sometimes 
asserted ;  and  I  fear  not  to  predict  that,  if  the  United  States 
are  ever  involved  in  serious  difficulties,  taxation  will  speed- 
ily be  raised  as  high  there  as  in  most  of  the  aristocracies  or 
the  monarchies  of  Europe. 


CORRUPTION  AND  THE  VICES  OF  THE  RULERS  IN  A  DEMOCRA- 
CY, AND  CONSEQUENT  EFFECTS  UPON  PUBLIC  MORALITY. 

In  Aristocracies,  Rulers  sometimes  endeavor  to  corrupt  the  People.  —  In 
Democracies,  Rulers  frequently  show  themselves  to  be  corrupt.  --  In  the 
former,  their  Vices  are  directly  prejudicial  to  the  Morality  oiTtne  Bjople. 
—  In  the  latter,  their  indirect  Influence  is  still  more  pernicious. 

A  DISTINCTION  must  be  made,  when  aristocracies  and 
democracies  mutually  accuse  each  other  of  facilitatintr  cor- 


^      GOVERNMENT   0.   THE  DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA.       287 

niption.     In  aristocratic  covernmpnt,  fl,«        i 

at  the  head  of  afFifr.  ,..,'',''"''^'^^'^^^^  Placed 

of  power      In  f  "'^'  '"""'  ^^'^  ^^'^^  ^lesirous  only 

tocratic  states,  the  ruLs  1 1  '^"T^"^"^^  "'  ^^"^'  "^  -- 
tion,  and  have  I   .^  !  ""^'^^^  accessible  to  corrup- 

»t  auction.     I„  C„~  '1''      "^^  ^°  ^P-k,  put  up 
»re  covetous  of  nowor'^M  ™'"™''y'  *'><'^«  ^l'" 

of  those  wl,„  confer  '„  ""  "      "'^'  ""■  "'«  """''^" 

democ,  J    ZZX':  "-"'"T'^  S.-eat.     Perhaps,  in 

sides,  it  would  be  necess' vT„  .  """'''  '"''•  '^ 

on^,  that  t„e  attempt  riZhlt  '"""  ''-'-  ■" 

<as":«;^e':,:::  :'■"  '■"'^  ^t^™""  ^™"-  "-"g  "- 

aT:rtttrnc\r -'«-^ 

ried  on  in  England  rl  ,  ""  "T"''^  ""''  l"'''''>'y  ^ar- 
any  one  ace":  d  of  snen  u"""^  ^"""'  '  "^^^  hearxl 
but  I  ],ave  .ft  „  held    ."^  >!'  "'"'"'  '"  '"'^''"8  ™'«« ! 

tioned.  sti,,  roX:t,r.'r  c  :f -^'^  '- 

are  themselvr  coXu,  Vt  T  '""''^  "'  ="  '"'""'^^'^ 
of  the  people  is  dir^tassldT  it™? S;?  "r'"^ 
""fluence  is  exercised  which  is  st  I!  1        .    i     ^        '"''"*'" 

A^the™,e.„fdej;rir::e"dri,s 


■'■-•liii 


i  I 


!  t 


y     ' 


288 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


^ 


suspected  of  dislionorable  conduct,  they  in  some  measure 
lend  the  authority  of  the  government  to  the  base  practices 
of  which  they  are  accused.  They  thus  afford  dangerous 
examples,  which  discourage  the  struggles  of  virtuous  inde- 
pendence and  cloak  with  authority  the  secret  desio-ns  of 
wickedness.  If  it  be  asserted  that  evil  passions  are  found 
in  all  ranks  of  society ;  that  they  ascend  the  throne  by 
hereditary  right ;  and  that  we  may  find  despicable  charac- 
ters at  the  head  of  aristocratic  nations,  as  well  as  in  the 
bosom  of  a  democracy,  —  the  plea  has  but  little  weight  in 
my  estimation.  The  corruption  of  men  who  have  casually 
risen  to  jiower  has  a  coarse  and  vulgar  infection  in  it. 
which  renders  it  dangerous  to  the  multitude.  On  the  con- 
trary, there  is  a  kind  of  aristocratic  refinement,  and  an  air 
of  grandeur,  in  the  depravity  of  the  great,  which  frequently 
prevent  it  from  spreading  abroad. 

The  people  can  never  penetrate  into  the  dark  labyrinth 
of  court  intrigue,  and  will  always  have  difficulty  in  detect- 
ing the  turpitude  which  lurks  under  elegant  manners,  re- 
fined tastes,  and  graceful  language.  But  to  pillage  the 
public  purse,  and  to  sell  the  favors  of  the  state,  are  arts 
which  the  meanest  villain  can  understand,  and  hope  to 
practise  in  his  turn. 

Besides,  what  is  to  be  feai'ed  is,  not  so  much  the  immo- 
rality of  the  great,  as  the  fact  that  immorality  may  lead  to 
greatness.  In  a  democracy,  private  citizens  see  a  man  of 
their  own  rank  in  life,  who  rises  from  that  obscure  position 
in  a  few  years  to  riches  and  power ;  the  spectacle  excites 
their  surprise  and  their  envy ;  and  they  are  led  to  inquire 
how  the  person  who  was  yesterday  their  equal,  is  to-day 
their  ruler.  To  attribute  his  rise  to  his  talents  or  his  vir- 
tues is  unpleasant;  for  it  is  tacitly  to  acknowledge  that 
they  are  themselves  less  virtuous  or  less  talented  than  he 
was.  They  are  therefore  led,  and  often  rightly,  to  impute 
his  success  mainly  to  some  of  his  vices ;  and  an  odious 


-MaiU*MtiMaiitm»Mit,, 


4te»t..,  <i«««.,!i»..:il,' -rftea^SB^  . 


aOVESKMENT  OP  THE  DEMOOBAOr  IN  AMERICA.      289 
connection  i,  thu,  fo^ed  between  the  ideas  of  tami 
Its'  '^'"''  -"'^"'^'^-  --»  — .  '^^ 

BFFOHTS   OF  WHICH   A   BBMOC.ACT  U    CAPABLE. 

whie:;"thr:i'::^'i^  ^-f  -^z  ^»™™-- 

emment  whi.l,    •     i  **  P*"?'*'  *»<•  »»'  «?  a  goy- 

name  of  the  peLe  ^  T.''  '<"»"»<«"g  in  thf 

power  which  beS^tlr:i;rfl"'^'•''■"s  "«=  --' 

acts  at  the  same  time  wiA  .1        •  f        ^'"^''  ""'"''«'  " 
a  single  man  °  ''""='"^'  '»<' !«'««'««««  of 

It  is  difficult  to  say  what  degree  of  effort  .  A 
government  may  be  cooable  of  Z^  ,      ''^'"<«'»f<= 

of  a  national  cJ1^n7  T^^^  °"  *'  "^-^nce 
hitherto  e.i:!edTn  J;„T  10""^'°  .•*""'"'■=  >■- 
which  ruled  over  France  Tms  W  tW  ""  ""^'"'^''^ 
an  insult  to  the  -publi^  ^1'^/;  ;-:;  J"-^^^^ 
United  States  afford  the  fi„t  example  !f  1~' 

-ewi.e„tht:L^r:;— -he"::- 

tabto  .d„,i„  aT^,  L"r  •"  "■"'  ''»'>"■  "ia.  »  ti.eir  life.  ,a, 
«hote  people.  *™"  *"'«''  '""=""  •«»!««,  which  w.»  ,„.de  by  . 


19 


290 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


But  as  the  contest  was  prolonged,  private  selfishness  began 
to  I'eappear.  No  money  was  brought  into  the  public  treas- 
ury ;  few  recruits  could  be  raised  for  the  army  ;  the  people 
still  wished  to  acquire  independence,  but  would  not  em- 
ploy the  only  means  by  which  it  could  be  obtained.  "  Tax 
laws,"  says  Hamilton,  in  the  Federalist  (No.  12),  "  have  in 
vain  been  multiplied ;  new  methods  to  enforce  the  collec- 
tion have  in  vain  been  tried ;  the  public  expectation  has 
been  uniformly  disappointed;  and  the  treasuries  of  the 
States  have  remained  empty.  The  popular  system  of  ad- 
ministration inherent  in  the  nature  of  popular  government, 
coinciding  with  the  real  scarcity  of  money  incident  to  a 
languid  and  mutilated  state  of  trade,  has  hitherto  defeated 
every  experiment  for  extensive  collections,  and  has  at 
length  taught  the  different  legislatures  the  folly  of  attempt- 
ing them." 

Since  that  period,  the  United  States  have  not  had  a  sin- 
gle serious  war  to  carry  on.  In  order,  therefore,  to  know 
what  sacrifices  democratic  nations  may  impose  upon  them- 
selves, we  must  wait  until  the  American  people  are  obliged 
to  put  half  their  entire  income  at  the  disposal  of  the  gov- 
ernment, as  was  done  by  the  English ;  or  to  send  forth  a 
twentieth  part  of  its  population  to  the  field  of  battle,  as 
was  done  by  France. 

In  America,  the  conscription  is  unknown,  and  men  are 
induced  to  enlist  by  bounties.*  The  notions  and  habits  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States  are  so  opposed  to  compul- 
sory recruiting,  that  I  do  not  think  it  can  ever  be  sanc- 
tioned by  the  laws.  What  is  termed  the  conscription  in 
France,  is  assuredly  the  heaviest  tax  upon  the  people ;  yet 
how  could  a  great  Continental  war  be  carried  on  without 

*  It  is  not  entirely  correct  to  say  that  the  conscription  is  unknown  in  the 
United  States.  Troops  were  drafted  from  tlie  militia  occasionally  during 
the  Revolution,  and  in  the  course  of  the  war  with  England  in  1812.  —  An. 
Bd. 


-•■^f^tMt&fMt^  J. 

'^■i*-i».  Mi«i»«.,ifeisa 

"«^.4»fcw.... 

^HIH^^^H 

^^^^^^B-^_ 

^^^^^^^^H 

^^^^HH^HI 

«OVKBNMm  0.  THE  DEMOCACV  m   .MKHIOA.       291 

It?    The  Americans  have  not  adopted  thp  n.u:  1 
of  impressing  seamen,  and  they  1  .ve  „t,       '    ,' .T""" 
responds  to  the  French  svsH  „7  ^"^  '''""''  '^'"■- 

the  navy,  as  well  as  the  T  T  ""*"""  '=«n^™Ption ; 

voluntee^.     Bn    it  is  1^       "'  '"•™'' '^  '"PPli^d  by 

can  snstain  a  gr^m^r eZ'Xfhir  "  """'"' 
to  one  or  the  otlier  of  .1,        /  "'""u'  having  recourse 

Union,  which  hrieadV^ir™,;^'''™-  '""''»''•  *« 
>-  never  had  a  nu;:l'°S  i:^'  hT"  "?""  "^  ^^'«' 
few  vessels  has  always  been  veTyel^  ^r^'P""^"'  "^  ''^ 

-trrdf«e:^"„~{---thenn- 
without  adopting  the  LTTT-  ^'"""'  ""  "'^  ^^as, 
conscriptionf  C^tZ^'^'Z^T'  "^  ""-'■•- 

who  exercise  the  supreme  auL./  !  "f  "'"  ''""P"'- 
measures.  '^  Mthonty,  to  submit  to  such 

4%  trr  eLtl' "  "■■""  1  '^"^-'  ^  ^-  P«P'e 
beh-eve  that  tUs  tT     ^?  '"^  ""'''••    ^^-^  ^  '"^  "e  to 

Which  the^mre!^  ;:;::d*r T--  '» 
*an  for^tr'p:,  :;;it™t^;^r*^'''^  ^'^- 

which  beset  the  pohti^al  ex' t'of  ntilt  '  tT  ''"""' 
1.5  very  evident  •  PnfKn.;„  nations.     The  reason 

*ey  win  not  s^p^o  Vem  W  '  ^1  "■'*""'  -"^^"o"' 
'ion  even  in  thTimpul^  JL.^ZZ"^''''' '^''^t 
^pposed;  and  although  the  ii,^    IZ',  '\g<»>erally 

»ion  alone,  perseverance  ^    ,  '  ^'^  """'«  V  pas- 

view  of  wLa't  one Tfigh  Lrr'f  °" '^  "^  ''  '"^•'-' 

..pon1uUm:naXSZ'lilff'"'"%^^^^^^^     . 

in.indemoc.cie..  tL  ;:^t:i::^:::tTar 


r! 


ii 


292 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


t        ti 


111 


a 


to  reason ;  and  if  their  present  sufferings  are  great,  it  is  to 
be  feared  that  the  still  greater  sufferings  attendant  upon 
defeat  will  be  forgotten. 

Another  cause  tends  to  render  the  efforts  of  a  demo- 
cratic government  less  persevering  than  those  of  an  aris- 
tocracy. Not  only  are  the  lower  less  awake  than  the 
higher  orders  to  the  good  or  evil  chances  of  the  future,  but 
they  suffer  more  acutely  from  present  privations.  The 
noble  exposes  his  life,  indeed,  but  the  chance  of  glory  is 
equal  to  t^'^  "hance  of  harm.  If  he  sacrifices  a  large  por- 
tion of  his  income  to  the  state,  he  deprives  himself  for  a 
time  of  some  of  the  pleasures  of  affluence ;  but  to  the  poor 
man,  death  has  no  glory,  and  the  imposts  which  are 
merely  irksome  to  the  rich  oflen  deprive  him  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life. 

This  relative  weakness  of  democratic  repubUcs  in  critical 
times  is,  perhaps,  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  foundation  of 
such  a  republic  in  Europe.  In  order  that  one  such  state 
should  exist  in  the  European  world,  it  would  be  necessary 
that  similar  institutions  should  be  simultaneously  intro- 
duced into  all  the  other  nations. 

I  am  of  opinion  that  a  democratic  government  tends,  in 
the  long  run,  to  increase  the  real  strength  of  society ;  but 
it  can  never  combine,  upon  a  single  point  and  at  a  given 
time,  so  much  power  as  an  aristocracy  or  an  absolute  mon- 
archy. If  a  democratic  country  remained  during  a  whole 
century  subject  to  a  republican  government,  it  would  prob- 
ably, at  the  end  of  that  period,  be  richer,  more  populous, 
and  more  prosperous,  than  the  neighboring  despotic  states. 
But  durjiig  that  century,  it  would  often  have  incurred  the 
risk  of  being  conquered  by  them. 


•>4»«-'W«i^»»Si*..  W«.»6WJh«.i!»»fci 


OOVMNMENT  OF  THE  DEMOOBAOV  m  AMEmoA.       298 
.KLK-CONTBOL  OF  THE   AMBH.CAN    KEMOCRAOT. 

mocracy  are.  for  the  mo«t  part,  ropamble.  ^'"'"^  ^ 

The  difficulty  which  a  democrarv  fin^o  • 

the  passions  anLubduing  the  dt?;eLf  ^  ^"  ^^"^^"^ 
a  view  to  fh^  fi,f         •     r'  ^  °*  *"®  mument  from 

terer,,  find  Za.  Sltv  t  '"'"'"'  """"""^"^  ^^  ««'• 
tions,  whene'er  tW:l'^".:T"™'7  ">-■•  '-"na- 

m  Amenca,  the  legislation  is  made  by  thel^^tl^'' 
he  people.     Consequently,  i„  the  uL  d  |  afe^  tre  W 

:;r T  "^^^  ^'r''  ^""-"^  -  ■»-' '«« t 

s've  law  of  whi.W.    '''•''""  '"'  '""^^  *»'  »  offen- 
sive law  of  which  the  majority  should  not  see  the  imm». 

diate  „.h.y  wotdd  either  not  be  enacted  or  no  0^7^" 

rupL^  noT  b       "  'I  "°  '""  '^"'"  fra-dulent'^tnk- 
r^taes   not  because  they  a.^  few,  but  because  they  ^ 

many.     The  dread  of  being  prosecuted  as  a  bankruot^! 

Zhl./-      !  ''™^?P'<=y  of  «*«■«;  and  a  sort  of  guilty 
prance  .s  extended  by  the  public  conscience  to  an  oS 
which  every  one  condemns  in  his  individual  caDaritv     T 
Aene     States  of  the  Southwest,  the  ct 3 l^raU^ 
take  justice  into  their  own  hands,  and  murders  STfl 


294 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


1 


Some  one  observed  to  me  one  day,  in  Philadelphia,  that 
almost  all  crimes  in  America  are  caused  by  the  abuse  of 
intoxicating  liquors,  which  the  lower  classes  can  procure  hi 
great  abundance  from  their  cheapness.  "  How  comes  it,' 
said  I,  "that  you  do  not  put  a  duty  upon  brandy?" 
"  Our  legislators,"  rejoined  my  informant,  "  have  fre- 
quently thought  of  this  expedient;  but  the  task  is  diffi- 
cult: a  revolt  might  be  apprehended;  and  the  members 
who  should  vote  for  such  a  law  would  be  sure  of  losing 
their  seats."  "  Whence  I  am  to  infer,"  replied  I,  "  that 
drunkards  are  the  majority  in  your  country,  and  that  tem- 
perance is  unpopular." 

When  these  things  are  pointed  out  to  the  American 
statesmen,  they  answer,  "  Leave  it  to  time,  and  experi- 
ence of  the  evil  will  teach  the  people  their  tme  interests." 
This  is  frequently  true :  though  a  democracy  is  more  liable 
to  error  than  a  monarch  or  a  body  of  nobles,  the  chances 
of  its  regaining  the  right  path,  when  once  it  has  acknowl- 
edged its  mistake,  are  greater  also;  because  it  is  rarely 
embarrassed  by  interests  which  conflict  with  those  of  the 
majority,  and  resist  the  authority  of  reason.  But  a  de- 
mocracy can  obtain  tnith  only  as  the  result  of  experience ; 
and  many  nations  may  perish  whilst  they  are  awaiting  the 
consequences  of  their  errors.  The  great  privilege  of  the 
Americans  does  not  consist  in  being  more  enlightened  than 
other  nations,  but  in  being  able  to  repair  the  faults  they 
may  commit. 

It  must  be  added,  that  a  democracy  cannot  profit  by 
past  experience,  unless  it  has  arrived  at  a  certain  pitch  of 
knowledge  and  civilization.  There  are  nations  whose  first 
education  has  been  so  vicious,  and  whose  character  pre- 
sents so  strange  a  mixture  of  passion,  ignorance,  and  erro- 
neous notions  upon  all  subjects,  that  they  are  unable  to 
discern  the  causes  of  their  own  wretchedness,  and  they  fall 
a  sacrifice  to  ills  of  which  they  are  ignorant. 


^•i*^-**!?*.?^-    «H„ 


OOVEBNMKNT   OF  THE  DEMOCKACV  ,N  AMEEICA.       295 

«^  *i,  •     .    ,     "^^""0  ot  their  numbers,  and  of  tliP  rrlnrnr 
of  their  independenofl  •    an.l  t  u         i        ,  S'ory 

ine.-.a..,e.     The,  ^C^r^m^tTZX'T 
feel  the  woes  which  year  after  ve„/l  ^'      ""^ 

heads,  but  they  will  pSio  »  T       T  "P™    "'™ 

are  regarded  w.'fl,       .     •  i  quarter  of  a  century 

H.,CeXnw^T;e:iT:XtTS 

their  „a(„™?  slate.     But  who  can  affirm  that  t.^  I  . 
are  uot  at  the  p.se„t  time,  the  most^rtut's^  o T 
oouth  American  SDaniard«  ?     t«  *v,  ^ 
-ruggling  in  the  de Kan  a^st L^Sr 7  t' 
are  insufficient  to  rescue  if      Tl,l  •  i    u  ^^'^'*^* 


* 
it 


296  DEMOCBACY  IN  AMERICA. 

CONDUCT   OF   FOREIGN   AFFAIRS   BY  THE   AMERICAN 

DEMOCRACY. 

Direction  given  to  the  Foreign  Policy  of  the  United  States  by  Washington 
and  Jefferson.  —  Almost  all  the  Defects  inherent  in  Democratic  Institu- 
tions are  brought  to  Light  in  the  Conduct  of  Foreign  Aflairs;  their  Ad- 
vantages  are  less  perceptible. 

•  We  have  seen  that  the  Federal  Constitution  intrusts  the 
permanent  direction  of  the  external  interests  of  the  nation 
to  the  President  and  the  Senate,*  which  tends  in  some  de- 
gree to  detach  the  general  foreign  policy  of  the  Union  from 
the  direct  control  of  the  people.  It  cannot,  therefore,  be 
asserted  with  truth,  that  the  foreign  affau-s  of  the  state  are 
conducted  by  the  democracy. 

The  policy  of  America  received  a  direction  from  two 
men,  —  Washington  and  Jefferson,  —  which  it  observes  to 
the  present  day.  Washington  said,  in  the  admirable  Fare- 
well Address  which  he  made  to  his  fellow-citizens,  and 
which  may  be  regarded  as  liis  political  testament :  — 

"The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us  in  regard  to  foreign 
nations  is,  in  extending  our  commercial  relations,  to  have 
with  them  as  little  political  connection  as  possible.  So  far 
as  we  have  already  formed  engagements,  let  them  be  ful- 
filled with  perfect  good  faith.     Here  let  us  stop. 

"  Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests,  which  to  us 
have  none,  or  a  very  remote  relation.  Hence  she  must 
be  engaged  in  frequent  controversies,  the  causes  of  which 
are  essentially  foreign  to  our  concerns.  Hence,  therefore, 
it  must  be  unwise  in  us  to  implicate  ourselves,  by  prtifi- 
cial  ties,  in  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  her  politics,  or  the 

♦  "  The  President,"  says  the  Constitution,  Art.  II.  sect.  2,  §  2,  "  shall 
have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  to  make 
treaties,  provided  two  thirds  of  the  Senarors  present  concur."  The  reader 
is  reminded  that  the  Senators  are  returned  for  a  term  of  six  years,  and  that 
tlicy  are  chosen  by  the  legislature  of  each  State. 


'•*^f^-^»m>i,j<^^.ta'. 


«OVEBNMEKT  OF  THE  DEMOCBAOV  m   AMEBICA.   297 

ander  an  efficient  gove^mem    LZ^'"""'^^^'' 

when  we  may  defy'n,aSl>  C Ix^^j  ^  '"' 
ance  :  when  we  mo^  ♦„!,  i     ^  external  annoy- 

lightly  hazard  the  It,^  »eq„«.tio„,  upon  us,  wiU  „„t 
cW  pe^  0  wSTf  r^-^"""  ■•  when  we  may 
«haU  coLsd.  '  "  °"  ■"'^'"''  e'"'J«'J  V  J-tice, 

m7ul/Z^^  *e  advantages  of  so  peculiar  a  situation  ? 
wny  quit  our  own  to  stand  upon  foreign  around  ?    ^ 
bymterwea^g  our  destiny  with  thatff  f^^    o7^' 
rope,  entangle  our  neaop  ^r,A  r.r,         •.       "^  ^         *  ^^" 


298 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


animosity  or  to  its  affection,  either  of  which  is  suflicient  tn 
lead  it  astray  from  its  duty  and  its  interest." 

Tlie  political  conduct  of  Washington  was  always  guided 
by  these  maxims.  He  succeeded  in  maintaining  his  coun- 
try in  a  state  of  peace  whilst  all  the  other  nations  of  the 
globe  were  at  war  ;  and  he  laid  it  down  as  a  fundamental 
doctrine,  that  the  true  interest  of  the  Americans  consisted 
in  a  perfect  neutrality  with  regard  to  the  internal  dissen- 
sions of  the  European  powers. 

Jefferson  went  still  further,  and  introduced  this  other 
maxim  into  the  policy  of  the  Union,  — that  "the  Amer- 
icans ought  never  to  solicit  any  privileges  from  foreign 
nations,  in  order  not  to  be  obliged  to  grant  similar  privi- 
leges themselves." 

These  two  principles,  so  plain  and  just  as  to  be  easily 
understood  by  the  people,  have  greatly  simplified  the  foi^ 
eign  policy  of  the  United  States.  As  the  Union  takes  no 
part  in  the  affairs  of  Europe,  it  has,  properly  speaking,  no 
foreign  interests  to  discuss,  since  it  has,  as  yet,  no  powerful 
neighbors  on  the  American  continent.  The  country  is  as 
much  removed  from  the  passions  of  the  Old  World  by  its 
position  as  by  its  wishes,  and  it  is  neither  called  upon  to 
repudiate  nor  to  espouse  them  ;  whilst  the  dissensions  of 
the  New  World  are  still  concealed  within  the  bosom  of  the 
future. 

The  Union  is  iree  from  all  pre-existing  obligations ;  it 
can  profit  by  the  experience  of  the  old  nations  of  Europe, 
without  being  obliged,  as  they  are,  to  make  the  best  of  the 
past,  and  to  adapt  it  to  their  present  circumstances.  I:  is 
not,  hke  them,  compelled  to  accept  an  immense  inheritance 
bequeathed  by  their  forefathers,  —  an  inheritance  of  glory 
mingled  with  calamities,  and  of  alliances  conflicting  with 
national  antipathies.  The  foreign  policy  of  the  United 
States  is  eminently  expectant ;  it  consists  more  in  abstain- 
ing than  in  acting. 


"« 


■«».'*!*»a«ai»a«fc... 


w»i»*»ii(Mw«i<atei,., 


GOVERNMENT  OF  T,„.;  DKJ.OOUACV  m  AMEmOA.       21.9 

It  is  therefore  very  difficult  to  aseertai,,,  at  nre,e„t  wl,at 
degree  of  sagaeity  tl,e  American  democ-ra  y  ii  llplav  „ 
the  conduct  of  ti.e  foreign  nolicv  of  ,!,/„      ,     '  ^ 
this  point,  its  adve^es^a,  wX  its  «•■    T  ''"   "''™ 

X:       e^rnt^E  "'"'•""  '"•■"'^  "-M^<"y  ".<?rior  to 
r    (iveinments.     Experience,  instruction,  and  Irihit  -,1 
n.os   always  .succeed  in  creating  in  a  democ racv  »  ' 

spoc.es  of  practical  wisdon,,  and  tl.at  sc  cn'e  Jt  >e         ' 
oeeurrences  of  life  which  is  called  good  sense      gZ    ' 

u„es  ot  democi'atic  hberty  in  the  hiternai  affairs  of  fhp 

ra'Zs:""' "'"" '"""'"'''"' '-  "'^'  ^^'^^'■'- 

ma  d  n  ouat,c  government.    Jiut  it  is  not  always  so  in 
the  relations  with  foreign  nations.  ^ 

contr  ^:2p:^:ti:  ^=r&- - 

dch,,ent.     Democracy  ,s  favorable  to  the  increase  of  .1 . 
niternal  resources  of  a  state  •  it  ,i;fl'  "'<^;'-'«e  "'  the 

fort,  promotes  public  spiran'df,^  ",""''"'  ""''  ""'"■ 

inj,  jses  if  ie.7r;:r2::ir::^^ 

with  great  difficulty  regull:;  the  VtatT;^^::^ 

execution  in'^ "  I  ^  ^^^''^V''  '''''''  '"^  '' 
its  measures  with  secrecy  or  at  /  '  """"''  '""'"'"' 
patience      TI,  ^ ' ,   •         ^  ^'''^'''  ^'^"«^^'I"^'nces  witli 

patience.      1   ese  are  qualities  which  more  e  necial'y  be- 
long  to  un  uuhvichial  or  an  aristocracv  •  nuA  J 
ciselythe  „u..ities  by  which  a  n:.!  11^1   'iSS" 
attams  a  donnnunt  position.  ""nviuual, 

Jf,  on  the  contrarv,  we  observe  the  natund  defects  of 


:-,  i| 


i^i^^iifflSatSlaSiij^-AjM 


800 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


aristocracy,  we  shall  find  that,  comparatively  speaking, 
they  do  not  injure  the  direction  of  the  external  affairs  of 
the  state.  The  capital  fault  of  which  aristocracies  may  be 
accused  is,  that  they  work  for  themselves,  and  not  for  the 
people.  In  foreign  politics,  it  is  rare  for  the  interest  of  the 
aristocracy  to  be  distinct  from  that  of  the  people. 

The  propensity  which  induces  democracies  to  obey  im- 
pulse rather  than  prudence,  and  to  abandon  a  mature  de- 
sign  for  the  gratification   of  a  monientary  passion,  was 
clearly  seen  in  America  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  French 
Revolution.     It  was  then  as  evident  to  the  simplest  capaci- 
ty, as  it  is  at  the  present  time,  that  the  interest  of  the 
Americans  forbade  them  to  take  any  part  in  the  contest 
which  was  about  to  deluge  Europe  with  blood,  but  which 
could  not  injure  their  own  country.     But  the  sympathies 
of  the  people  declared  themselves  with  so  much  violence  in 
favor  of  France,  that  nothing  but  the  inflexible  character 
of  Washington,  and  the  immense  popularity  which  he  en- 
joyed, could  have  prevented  the  Americans  fi-om  declaring 
war  against  England.     And  even  then,  the  exertions  which 
the  austere  reason  of  that  great  man  made  to  repress  the 
generous  but  imprudent  passions  of  his  fellow-citizens  near- 
ly deprived  him  of  the  sole  recompense  which  he  ever 
claimed,  —  that  of  his  country's  love.     The  majority  rep- 
robated his  poHcy,  but  it  was  afterwards  approved  by  the 
whole  nation.* 


*  See  the  fifth  volume  of  Marshall's  "Life  of  Washington."  "In  a 
government  constituted  like  that  of  the  United  States,"  he  says,  "  it  is  im 
possible  for  the  chief  magistrate,  however  firm  he  may  be,  to  oppose  for  any 
length  of  time  the  torrent  of  popular  opinion ;  and  the  prevalent  opinion  of 
that  day  seemed  to  incline  to  war.  In  fact,  in  the  session  of  Congress  held 
at  the  time,  it  was  frequently  seen  that  Washington  had  lost  the  majority  in 
the  House  of  Representatives."  The  violence  of  the  language  used  against 
him  in  public  was  extreme,  and,  in  a  political  meeting,  t^oy  did  not  scruple 
to  compare  him  indirectly  with  the  traitor  Arnold.  "  By  the  opposition," 
says  Marshall,  "  the  friends  of  the  administration  were  declared  tc  be  »Q 


!3R.JEn'^ 


w<«»»fe«Me»a««».,i  ^, 


OOVEENMENT  OP  IBE  BEMOOBAOr  n,  AMEKIC^       801 

If  the  Constitution  and  the  favnr  nP  fi        r,i-    ,    , 
it  no,v  condemn,  ^       *■"  "'"'^  "'^"^  ^'^^i^h 

recollect  that  nlLgllVo^^  "'  "T'T  "'■^"  ^™ 
of  pu^ose  as  an  .JZ^^.  "^^,  ^l^f  te  "^  >  '^'^ 
I-  led  astray  by  ig„„,ance  or  p^fon";:  ^77^  ""^ 
may  be  biassed,  and  made  to  vaciUat^  1^^/  f 

Ughtened  fnri"' thatner^r^  "  '  '""  '"'  """ 


'  it 


-•Afti«i<fioitiii^j,i(ijij»4jj,jj^ 


302 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

WHAT  ARE    THE    REAL    ADVANTAGES   WHICH    AMERICAN   SOCI- 
ETY  DERIVES   FROM   A   DEMOCRATIC   GOVERNMENT. 

BEFORE  entering  upon  the  present  chapter,  I  must 
remind  the  reader  of  wliat  I  have  more  tlian  once  ob- 
served in  this  book.  The  pohtical  constitution  of  the  United 
States  appears  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  fonns  of  government 
which  a  democracy  may  adopt ;  but  I  do  not  regard  the 
American  Constitution  as  the  best,  or  as  the  only  one, 
which  a  democratic  people  may  establish.  In  showing  the 
advantages  which  the  Americans  derive  from  the  govern- 
ment of  democracy,  I  am  therefore  very  far  from  affirming, 
or  believing,  that  similar  advantages  can  be  obtained  only 
from  the  same  laws. 


GENERAL  TENDENCY  OF  THE  LAWS  UNDER  THE  AMERICAN 
DEMOCRACY,  AND  INSTINCTS  OF  THOSE  WHO  APPLY 
THEM. 

Defects  of  a  Democratic  Government  easy  to  be  discovered.  —  Its  Advan- 
tages discerned  only  by  long  Observation.  —  Democracy  in  America 
often  inexpert,  but  the  general  Tendency  of  the  Laws  is  advantageous. 
—  In  the  American  Democracy,  Public  Officers  have  no  Permanent  In- 
terests distinct  from  those  of  the  Majority.  —  Results  of  this  State  of 
Things. 

The  defects  and  weaknesses  of  a  democratic  govern-   /  / 
ment  may  readily  be  discovered  ;  they  are  demonstrated  by   ^ 
flagrant  instances,  whilst  its  salutary  influence  is  insensible, 
and,  so  to  speak,  occult.     A  glance  suffices  to  detect  its 


ADVANTAGES  OF  DEMOCSACV. 


303 


faults,  but  its  good  qnaKties  can  be  discerned  only  by  lonrr 
observation.  The  laws  nf  n,a  a  ■  .  •'  ^  S 
freonentW^  f  7         •  ^  American  democracy  are  c^ 

i7Z%T  '"•.'™"»P'o"^!  they  sometimes  attack  ^ 

vested  rights  or  sanction  others  which  are  dangerous  to 
the  community;  and  eyen  if  they  were  sood    fhlw 
quency  would  still  be  a  great  eyil^   uZ'^Jtl"^ 
that  the  Amerfcan  republics  prosper  and  continue  ?'         ' 

JnJh5^om!ieiati2a.,£Jaws,  a-distinctio^  must  be  care-         . 
faUy^kerrod  between  the  end  at  which  they  aim  andT    \  ^ 

solute  and  their  relatiye  excellence.  If  it  be  the  nteLi'n 
of  the  legislator  to  fayor  the  interests  of  the  minorky  a" 
the  e..pense  of  the  majority,  and  if  .he  measures  he  2Li 
are  so  combined  as  to  accomplish  the  object  he  has  in  yTew 
with  the  least  possible  expense  of  time  and  exertion  tl^ 
law  may  be  well  drawn  up,  although  its  purpose  s  bad 
and  the  more  efficacious  it  is.  I  „.„,^  ^e^uslt' 

Democratic  laws  generally  tend  to  promote  the  welfare  f.'' 
of  the  greatest  possible  number;   for  they  emanarfrom  ° 
the  majority  of  the  citizens,  who  are  subject  to  e^'r  C 
who  cannot  haye  an  interest  opposed  to  {heir  own  adyail 
tage.     The  laws  of  an  artstocracy  tend,  on  the  contrary 
to  concentrate  wealth   and  power  in  the   hands  oTe 
mmon^ ;  because  an  aristocracy,  by  its  yery  nature,  c  , ! 
stitute»  a  minority.     It  may  therefore  be  asserted    as  a 
general  pro      Hion,  that  the  pui^ose  of  a  democr  et  i, 

vanllg™s  "'  ""'  *"  """   '"•»'  "f  '<■■'  ""l-    ^ 

legislation  than  democracies  ever  can  be.     They  are  nos-~ 
sessed  of  a  sclf.ontrol  which  protects  them  from 'he  erro" 
of  temporal^  excitement;  and  they  form  far-reaching  de- 
«igns,  which  they  know  how  to  mature  till   a   fayorable 


!l 

Ml 
it 


'l    I 


804 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


■■ii 


i> 


opportunity  arrives.  Aristocratic  government  proceeds 
with  the  dexterity  of  art ;  it  understands  liow  to  make  the 
collective  force  of  all  its  laws  converge  at  the  same  time  to 
a  given  point.  Such  is  not  the  case  with  democracies, 
whose  laws  are  almost  always  ineffective  or  inopportune. 
The  means  of  democracy  are  therefore  more  imperfect  than 
those  of  aristocracy,  and  the  measures  which  it  unwittingly 
adopts  are  frequently  opposed  to  its  own  cause;  but  the 
object  it  has  in  view  is  more  useful. 

Let  us  now  imagine  a  community  so  organized  by  na- 
ture, or  by  its  constitution,  that  it  can  support  the  transi- 
tory action  of  bad  laws,  and  that  it  can  await,  without 
destruction,  the  general  tendency  of  its  legislation :  we  shall 
then  conceive  how  a  democratic  government,  notwithstand- 
ing its  faults,  may  be  best  fitted  to  produce  the  prosperity 
of  this  community.  This  is  precisely  what  has  occurred 
in  the  United  States ;  and  I  repeat,  what  I  have  before 
remarked,  that  the  great  advantage  of  the  Americans  con- /  / 
s>tsin  their  bein£^le  to  ,£Qmmit.^lts_which  thgy  "iny  ^ 
af^wardft-^epair* 

^  An  analogous  observation  may  be  made  respecting  pub- 
lic officers.     It  is  easy  to  perceive  that  the  American  de- 
mocracy frequently  errs  in  the  choice  of  the  individuals  to 
whom  it  intrusts  the  power  of  the  administration ;  but  it 
is  more  difficult  to  say  why  the  state  prospers  under  their 
rule.     In  the  first  place,  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that  if,  in  a 
democratic  state,  the  governors  have  less  honesty  and  less 
capacity  than  elsewhere,  the  governed  are  more  enlight- 
ened and  more  attentive  to  their  interests.     As  the  people 
in  democracies  are  more  constantly  vigilant  in  their  affairs, 
and  more  jealous  of  their  rights,  they  prevent  their  repre- 
sentatives from  abandoning  that  general  line  of  conduc-r 
which  their  own  interest  prescribes.     In  the  second  place,  , 
?_HE!!  ^®  remembered,  that,  if  the  democratic  magistrates  0 
more  apt  to  misuse  his  power,  he  possesses  it  for~a  shorter. 


y 


V 


«eW*f***«tftli/ikiK^i*^sii»(  TtLitett^;^ 


V 


>ceeds 
le  the 
me  to 
acies, 
•tune, 
than 

t  the 

y  na- 

'ansi- 

thout 

shall 

tand- 

erity 

irred 

efore 

ijon-// 

joaay^ 

pub- 
i  de- 
ls to 
ut  it 
their 
in  a 
less 
ight- 
iO£le 

airs,   <;  • 
pre- 
Juct 


u 


ace,  -  / 

teis" 
rter. 


ADVANTAGES   OF  DEMOCRACY.  305 

time^   liut  there  is  ^e^nother  reason  wlnV.l.  k  ^f.'Il 
general  and  conclusivT'Trr^iTr^^^ 

such  weretTie  case,  their  virtues  mi  „1„  i-^-^-^'  iSLil 

'^^5nSra3Fta&-„,i£'be    ~^^^ 

h^vT^rl  ft,  .f  •.  - ' "  turned  to  a  bad  .account.     I 

their  having  the  same^intemts  as  the    "/T    ""1  "•""' 

all  the  classes  into  wliich  society  is  divided      Tl Z 
continue  to  form  as  it  wor-o  "™ea.     lliese  classes 

pec,,  the  arhiter ^„f  their;  :';rth:r.'";Ht:h: 
rich  alone  govern,  the  interest  of  the  poor  i,  nlw         ",'"* 

gered;  and  when  the  poor  „,ake  the  la"    tte   ftC     t 
incurs  very  serious  rkU      Tl        i  *"^  "'^l' 

does  not  cJns  St  ,W  t  '"'''■"i2gO-i£.democK,cy 

rounded  Lh  that'^l;:^L:^:^;^ - 

Tl  ey  may  frequently  be  faithless,  and  frequeiitlv Tnsteken ! 
but  they  will  never  systematically  adoptl  li,,;  0^^' 


*«»«««*i»'**,«<,^i.j.. 


306 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


liostile  to  the  majority ;  and  they  cannot  give  a  dangeroua 
or  exclusive  tendency  to  the  government. 

The  maladministration  of  a  democratic  magistrate,  more- 
over, is  an  isolated  fact,  which  has  influence  only  during 
the  short  period  for  which  he  is  elected.  Corruption  and 
incapacity  do  not  act  as  common  interests,  which  may  con- 
nect men  permanently  with  one  another.  A  corrupt  or 
incapable  magistrate  will  not  concert  his  measures  with 
another  magistrate,  simply  because  the  latter  is  as  corrupt 
and  incapable  as  himself;  and  these  two  men  will  never 
unite  their  endeavors  to  promote  the  corruption  and  inap- 
titude of  their  remote  posterity.  The  ambition  and  the 
manoeuvres  of  the  one  will  serve,  on  the  contrary,  to  un- 
mask the  other.  The  vices  of  a  magistrate,  in  democratic 
states,  are  usually  wholly  personal. 

But  under  aristocratic  governments,  public  men  are 
swayed  by  the  interest  of  their  order,  which,  if  it  is  some- 
times confounded  with  the  interests  of  the  majority,  is  very 
frequently  distinct  from  them.  This  interest  is  the  com- 
mon and  lasting  bond  which  unites  them  together ;  it  m- 
duces  them  to  coalesce  and  combine  their  efforts  to  attain 
an  end  which  is  not  always  the  happiness  of  the  greatest 
number :  and  it  serves  not  only  to  connect  the  persons  in 
authority  with  each  other,  tut  to  unite  them  with  a  consid- 
erable portion  of  the  community,  since  a  numerous  body 
of  citizens  belong  to  the  aristocracy,  without  being  invested 
with  official  functions.  The  aristocratic  magistrate  is  there- 
fore constantly  supported  by  a  portion  of  the  community, 
as  well  as  by  the  government  of  which  he  is  a  member. 

The  common  purpose  which,  in  aristocracies,  connects 
the  interest  of  the  magistrates  with  that  of  a  portion  of  their 
contemporaries,  identifies  it  also  with  that  of  future  genera- 
tions ;  they  labor  for  the  future  as  well  as  for  the  present. 
The  aristocratic  magistrate  is  urged  at  the  same  time, 
towards  the  same  point,  by  the  passions  of  the  community, 


fe- 


ADVANTAGES  OF  DEMOCRACY. 


807 


repeated  impuUsV    A n  1  '..deej         '"  '"■    "^'"  ""^'' 

e~a"S  .tt  "„1  ^"  --^  -— r: jTj;:: 

uivmuais  to  the  government  of  a  countrv      Tf 
not,  however  esMi^*»  «Ko^      ^-  "*  •*  i-uuntry.     Jt  can- 

England,  ^  S:^Z'ZJT'  '"  ."""^S'^'-'-  "^ 
ficed  to  ti.e  advantage  of  t.'^M         f  "*""  "'■'<"'  ^''<="'- 

'I'at  England,  at  the  „  dat:  T  ™f  «<l™noe  is, 
of  good  and  evil  fonJTL^::''^^  the  extreme, 
the  miseries  and  priv.HonVlf  i,  »f  her  society ;  and 

power  and  renown"!  '"'  ^'""'  '^""«'  ^l-^'  I'er 

In  the  United  States,  where  the  n„M;„    a: 
class-interests  to  promote  tl  „      Pf'"  °ffi<=«rs  have  no 
ence  of  the  governmem   J  tnffi  M     .T''  '''"^'^"*  ■"«'- 
uals  who  co,fd„et  it  ar^  ft  „! ^  f't^'f^^''  ?''«  »<>'vid- 
contemptible.     Tl,ere  is  ind^l  "''  ""''  sometimes 

^i^^^^rvienttotr'         '■  ^..''^'""'^'"•-^'■"^  ^ 

institutions,  there  is  a  score    ht? '  i  '"  """"^ratic 

'he  talents  and  virtues  of  t  ose  X  c"  '.  ""'I*^'™'""^ 
■nent,  leads  them  to  contribmeMl  ,"''  "'"  S"™™' 
their  fellowK^reaturc,     Tn    "  ,  '  '"''  *'"''^''  Wess 

democratic  stat^rt),Pvi>,7 f       "  -"'■^"^I'S  " !  and  iji 

never,C^T5       '     "*  ''''""  S«»ii-B.ultewMc_h  they 


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DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


PUBLIC   SPIRIT   IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Instinctive  Patriotism.  —  ratriotism  of  Reflection.  —  Tlicir  different  Char 
acteristics.  —  Nations  ought  to  strive  to  acquire  the  second  when  the  first 
has  disappeared.  —  Efforts  of  the  Americans  to  acquire  it.  —  Interest  of 
the  Individual  intimately  connected  with  that  of  the  Country. 

TH^E_is_one  sort  of  patriotic  attachment,  which  princi- 
pally  arises^^m  thaLE^  l^ 

fflnaBIe  feeling  which  connects  the  affections  of  man  with 
his  birthplace.     This  haturartoiicrness  is"umted  with  a  taste 
"ftif  ancient  customs,  and  a  reverence  for  traditions  of  the 
past ;  those  who  cherish  it  love  their  country  as  they  love 
the  mansion  of  their  fathers.     They  love  tlie  tranquillity 
which  it  affords  them ;  they  cling  to  the  peaceful  habits 
which  they  have  contracted  within  its  bosom  ;   they  are 
attached  to  tlie  reminiscences  which  it  awakens ;  and  they 
are  even  pleased  by  hving  there  in  a  state  of  obedience. 
This  patriotism  is  sometimes  stimulated  by  religious  enthu- 
siasm, and  then  it  is  capable  of  making  prodigious  efforts. 
It  is  in  itself  a  kind  of  religion  :  it  does  not  reason,  but  it 
acts  from  the  impulse  of  faith  and  sentiment.     In  some  na- 
tions, the  monarch  is  regarded  as  a  personification  of  the 
countiy ;  and,  the  fervor  of  patriotism  being  converted  into 
the  fervor  of  loyalty,  they  take  a  sympathetic  pride  in  his 
conquests,  and  glory  in  his  power.     There  was  a  time, 
under  the  ancient  monarchy,  when  the  French  felt  a  sort 
of  satisfaction  in  the  sense  of  their  dependence  upon  the 
arbitrary  will  of  their  king ;  and  they  were  wont  to  say 
with  pride,  "  We  live  under  the  most  powerful  kin<r  in  the 
world."  " 

But,  like  all  instinctive  passions,  this  kind  of  patriotism 
incites  great  transient  exertions,  but  no  continuity  of  effort. 
It  may  save  the  state  in  critical  circumstances,  but  often  al- 
lows it  to  decline  in  times  of  peace.  Whilst  the  manners 
of  a  people  are  simple,  and  its  faith  unshaken,  —  whilst 


ADVANTAGES  OF  DEMOCRACY.  qq,j 

tnotism  is  wont  to  endure         '""''  ~  ""'  >™tinctive  pa- 

.no.,  fruit  jr7™;^isri: "'  '"v^'*"'' "-'  '^  ^ 

■■^  is  nurtured  b,  the  lit  t%  J3  ''°™  ''"""'^'^g^' 
"ghts;  and,  in  the  end  i  hf  f  f  .  ^''^'"'"^  '^"'''' 
interests  of  the  citiU      A      "'"'^"''"'^'^  ''i*  tho  personal 

which  the  well-being  of  hiTeountr?'''''™'*^  *^  ■"«»™^'' 
«ware  that  the  laws  perm^  T  7  ""  "P™  ^^  °™ '  l'«  i« 
Perity,  and  he  labo^:™  2™ '"  7'"''?  '»  «>at  pros- 
fits  him,  and  secondly  tecZ  !  i' '•  "'^'.'^^^''-se  it  bene- 
Bnt  epochs  someL^":    „','  V\C\r^  T"  ""^'^• 

when  the  old  customs  of  a  neonl  I  *  "^  ^  ""i™. 

■^Hty  is  destroyed,  relilTj  /f  "''™g^<''  Poh'ic  mo- 
tradition  broken,  vW^fle  dl  ■  ■*?'  ™<'  *''  ^P^"  «"• 
imperfect,  and  the  J  tht  „f  1"  '™-^'^''^«  ■«  ^^ 
secured,  or  confined  within"  narl  t^r^rf  ^  ""  '" 
then  assumes  a  dim  and  ,I„k;        T  ^'"'^  country 

citizens,-  they  noTon^erthZ  ^    ""  ,!"  *^  ^"^  "'  *e 
inhabit,  for  that  soil  fs  to  tL  •'"  *"  '""  '"'"'^1'  'hey 

*e-«.ges  of  their k:^;rw~h:r^'f'  ""^  '" 
regard  as  a  debasing  yoke  •  norl  r  ^  !""'"  '""""'^^  '» 
doubt,  nor  in  theYws,  ^H,  dotr"'  "■  "'  """  ^^^ 
own  authority;  nor  in  tL  ;       .  °"S»iate  in  their 

fepise.     The'^'j;;  'tCft  2' ■'""""  *^^^''^-'«' 
neither  discover  it  under  L!  '""'"'■   ^''y  ean 

tnres,  and  they  retire  in  o  a  ™'- ""''- '"'.-owed  fea- 
selfishness.     They  t?  e"l.       .TJ  ""''  unenlightened 

outhaWngaeknowlXelTh;'"  ^T  P^'J"*'-'  -i*- 
neither  th^e  instinctKti^^^^^^^^^^^  "'  "'^™ '  "^^^  >>-« 
reflecting  patriotism  of  frepX    h\T'^>  ""  *» 

^—  'he  two  h.  the  n>ii?:ftL^ridt:r::r 


'#( «, 


SIO 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


^ 


(3LATO 


In  this  predicament,  to  retreat  is  impossible ;  for  a  people 
cannot  recover  the  sentiments  of  their  youth,  any  more 
than  a  man  can  return  to  the  innocent  tastes  of  childhood : 
such  things  may  be  regretted,  but  they  cannot  be  renewed. 
They  must  go  forward,  and  accelerate  the  union  of  private 
with  public  interests,  since  the  period  of  disinterested  pa- 
triotism is  gone  by  forever. 

I  am  certainly  far  from  affirming,  that,  in  order  to  obtain 
this  result,  the  exercise  of  political  rights  should  be  imme- 
diately granted  to  all  men.  But  I  maintain  that  the  most. 
y^  powerful,  and  perhaps  the  only,  means  which  we  still  pos- 
sess of  interesting  men  in  the  welfare  of  their  country,  is 
.to  make  them  partakers  in  the  government.  At  the  pres-"' 
ent  time,  civic  zeal  seems  to  me  to  be  inseparable  from  the 
exercise  of  political  rights ;  and  I  think  that  the  number 
of  citizens  will  be  found  to  augment  or  decrease  in  Europe 
in  proportion  as  those  rights  are  extended. 

How  happens  it  that  in  the  United  States,  where  the 
inhabitants  arrived  but  as  yesterday  upon  the  soil  which 
they  now  occupy,  and  brought  neither  customs  nor  tradi- 
tions with  them  there ;  where  they  met  each  other  for  the 
first  time  with  no  previous  acquaintance ;  where,  in  short, 

the  instinctive  love  of  country  can  scarcely  exist; how 

happens  it  that  every  one  takes  as  zealous  an  interest  in 
the  affairs  of  his  township,  his  county,  and  the  whole  State, 
as  if  they  were  his  own  ?  It  is  because  every  one,  in  his 
sphere,  takes  an  active  part  in  the  government  of  society. 

The  lower  orders  in  the  United  States  understand  the 
influence  exercised  by  the  general  prosperity  upon  their 
own  welfare ;  simple  as  this  observation  is,  it  is  too  rarely 
made  by  the  people.  Besides,  they  are  wont  to  regard  this 
prosperity  as  the  fruit  of  their  own  exertions.  The  citizen 
looks  upon  the  fortune  of  the  public  as  his  own,  and  he 
labors  for  the  good  of  the  State,  not  merely  from  a  sense 
of  pride  or  duty,  but  from  what  T  venture  to  term  cupidity. 


ADVANTAGES   OF  DEMOCRACY  jJij 

mark,  for  their  manners  render  it  sufficiently  evident     T, 
the  American  participates  in  all  that  i,  dn„„  ■    I 
he  thh.ks  himself  obli,red  t^  dZn   \T  "  ''°""*^^' 

snred  in  if  for  it  !,  '1      f  ««t"'' ^'""^™'' "^y "«  cen- 

attacked,  i    is  hil  f  "rr  "^  *"'  """""y  "'"^''  ''  *™ 
tional  pr  de Mr  f  ■  /      T'''"™'='^  '''  "«"  ''«  ™- 

an.hep;-sr:;;rarvlir'""''  "^ "- 

JNothmg  IS  more  embarrassing,  in   the   orrlJno..    •  . 
course  of  life  th^r,  tW..  •    •.  i.i  ^  ordmary  mter- 

cans      A  llr  ,  ""'^^^^  patriotism  of  the  Ameri- 

cans.     A  stranger  may  be  well  inolinprl  f«        •       ^™^"- 

the  instiTutions  dflfts^uWB^^^^  T"^  "^<.^ 

>^niiiar-^s-^  ir  Z™^^^^^  "^^^^  isl^xoraWj 

nStan^bodyThou^^  '  free  countryrin  which, 

allowed  to  spe^^^^^^^^  '^  r^.  T"''^'  ^^u  are  not 

state-  of  fV,!    V  ^        P"''^*^  individuals,  or  of  the 

-ept,  perhaps,  the  .?imate\:d  tTl  ^aifd'rvfnlen' 

o4"- Id  t^:rmi::^T2!trnhfsrf  f ^ 

and  acti^nty  which  the  fir,t  ..!/      '     •  '''^^  ^''''^^ 

-  P.ed.j„f  trani^-H-," t  ^^t^^:!' 

NOTION    OP   RIGHTS   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

No  great  People  without  a  Notion  of  T?,VJ,f       tr       ,.    , 

can  be  given  to  a  PeonlP      T         f      ~"  ^"""^  *^'  ^°*''«°  «f  R%ht 
Whence  it  ales       '"'"'  '"  ''"■^'^*  '"^  ^'^^  ^-^^d  Spates- 

one.     Ihe  idea  of  nght  is  simply  that  of  .drtue 


.111 


^'^i\  I 


312 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


introduced  into  the  political  world.  It  was  the  idea  of  right 
which  enabled  men  to  define  anarchy  and  tyranny ;  Tnd 
which  taught  them  how  to  be  independent  without  arro- 
gance, and  to  obey  without  servility.  The  man  who  sub^ 
mits  to  violence  is  debased  by  his  compliance ;  but  when 
J  ^^^"^^^^  ^"  ^^jgL.^ght  of  authority  which  he  jtckno^d 
^^^^^J^^^Szcre^eT^nses  in  some  meagure^abave 
Ifliejje^on^ft-glyjsjhllcflii^  There  are  no  great 

men  without  virtue ;  and  there  are  no  great  nations,  —  it 
may  almost  be  added,  there  would  be  no  society,  —  without 
respect  for  right ;  for  what  is  a  union  of  rational  and  in- 
telligent beings  who  are  held  together  only  by  the  bond  of 
force  ? 

I  am  persuaded  that  the  only  means  which  we  possess, 
at  the  present  time,  of  inculcating  the  idea  of  right,  and 
of  rendering  it,  as  it  were,  palpable  to  the  senses,  is  to  en- 
dow all  with  the  peaceful  exercise  of  certain  rights :  this  is 
very  clearly  seen  in  children,  who  are  men  without  the 
strength  and  the  experience  of  manhood.     When  a  child 
begins  to  move  in  the  midst  of  the  objects  which  surround 
him,  he  is  instinctively  led  to  appropriate  to  himself  every- 
thing which  he  can  lay  his  hands  upon ;  he  has  no  notion 
of  the  property  of  others ;  but  as  he  gradually  learns  the 
value  of  things,  and  begins  to  perceive  that  he  may  in  his 
turn  be  despoiled,  he  becomes  more  circumspect,  and  he 
ends  by  respecting  those  rights  in  others  which  he  wishes 
to  have   respected  in  himself.     The  principle  which  the 
child  derives  from  the  possession  of  his  toys  is  taught  to 
the  man  by  the  objects  which  he  may  call  his  own.     In 
America,  the  most  democratic  of  nations,  those  complaints 
against  property   in   general,   which  are    so   frequent  in 
Europe,  are  never  heard,  because  in  America  there  are  no 
paupers.     As  every  one  has  property  of  his  own  to  defend, 
every  one  recognizes  the  principle  upon  which  he  holds  it. 
The  same  thing  occurs  in  the  political  world.     In  Ame^ 


i' 


ADVANTAGES   OF  DEMOCRACY. 


813 


tl.at  their  own  „ay  „„.  be  vlla  J^  wlt  E^;: jf 
same  classes  sometimes  resist  even  tl,„  ^  '  "'^ 

American  submits  withoTa  m™™';  tZr  T"'  "^ 
the  pettiest  magistrate.  *'  *"*''"'y  "^ 

the  higher  dl;  The  n?"^'  "'  ''"^'^^^'^  "'-"^l  fo' 
ever  the  ricT  re'recl'era'::!  tf""'"^ '^""'''^ ''•■- 
with  propriety,  and  ^;ectVw^;;rt::t  ''^'^™ 
ments  which  they  themselves  share  InCl  ^  '"f^' 
wealth  has  a  monopoly  „f  an,„3emr„t  as  wfS'n!  " 
complamts  are  made,  that,  whenever  tte  n„      ,     '^"'' 

it  is  possible,  the  effects  .^h  ;es^  iZ'T"  v"'^,"'"" 
pori^t,  andladd,that,iftnvef  r  :L'f"jT 
such  an  attempt  ought  to  be  made,  that  time  is  no!      n 
you  not  see  that  relioious  belief  Liu  ,         '     ^^ 

notion  of  right  is  dedil  ,  II  ^'''"'  """^  *«  '"^"e 
and  the  notbn  of  motl  ?L~*f  """^^'"^  "  ^'^< 
Argument  Hu^Jti::^  ^I  ITcT  Y'''  T^^'' 
impulses  of  sentiment      If   •     !r  '""?,'^»'™'''"on  for  the 


314 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMEBICA. 


■'  4- 


have  of  governing  the  world  except  by  fear  ?  When  I  am 
told  that  the  laws  are  weak  and  the  people  are  turbulent, 
that  passions  are  excited  and  the  authority  of  virtue  is  par- 
alyzed, and  therefore  no  measures  must  be  taken  to  increase 
the  rights  of  the  democracy,  I  reply,  that,  for  these  very 
reasons,  some  measures  of  the  kind  ought  to  be  taken ;  and 
I  believe  that  governments  are  still  more  interested  in  tak- 
ing them  than  society  at  large,  for  governments  may  perish, 
but  society  cannot  die. 

But  I  do  not  wish  to  exaggerate  the  example  which 
America  furnishes.  There  the  people  were  invested  with 
political  rights  at  a  time  when  they  could  not  be  abused, 
for  the  inhabitants  were  few  in  number,  and  simple  in  their 
manners.  As  they  have  increased,  the  Americans  have 
not  augmented  the  power  of  the  democracy ;  they  have 
rather  extended  its  domain. 

^  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  moment  at  which  political 
rights  are  granted  to  a  people  that  had  before  been  without 
them  is  a  very  critical  one,  — that  the  measure,  though 
often  necessary,  is  always  dangerous.  A  child  may  kill 
before  he  is  aware  of  the  value  of  life ;  and  he  may  de- 
prive another  person  of  his  property,  before  he  is  aware 
that  his  own  may  be  taken  from  him.  The  lower  orders, 
when  first  they  are  invested  with  political  rights,  stand,  in 
relation  to  those  rights,  in  the  same  position  as  the  child 
does  to  the  whole  of  nature;  and  the  celebrated  adage 
may  then  be  applied  to  them,  Homo  puer  robustus.  This 
truth  may  be  perceived  even  in  America.  The  States  in 
which  the  citizens  have  enjoyed  their  rights  longest,  are 
those  in  which  they  make  the  best  use  of  them. 

It  cannot  be  repeated  too  often,  that  nothing  is  more  fer- 
tile in  prodigies  than  the  art  of  being  free  ;  but  there  is 
nothing  more  arduous  than  the  apprenticeship  of  liberty. 
It  is  not  so  with  despotism :  despotism  often  promises  to 
make  amends  for  a  thousand  previous  ills  ;  it  supports  tlie 


ADVANTAGES   OF  DEMOCRACY.  815 


HBSPECr   FOK  THB   tAW   ,N   THE   CNTBD   STATES, 
of  tiie  W.  '°™'  "'  "^  °°«  •«  i-orease  ,he  P„wc, 

but  it  cannot'^  jenW  th[;  "hln  t),-™"'™  "/  ""  '"" ' 
thoritv  of  tl,„  I       •  ,    ■        "  ""^  "  possible,  the  au- 

iiionty  of  the  law  is  much  auamented      Tr.;.  .       i         . 

an  amazinff  strenrrfli  ;«   .i  .      power.     Xliere  is 

d^ng  strength  m  the  expression  of  the  will  nf  o 
whole  people;  and  when  it  declares  itself  evl  .7 
nation  of  those  who  would  wish  to  colt  I  T  '"'"^'■ 

The  truth  of  this  fact  is  !«  tn    .^^^^^^^^^^ 
consequent!,  strive  to  .ake  out  a  n.a/rif;re;e;:    ^ 
Zir    /  ^7    '"^^  ""'  '^'^  ^'^^*^r  """^ber  of  voters  on 

T;: uTJT"^  .,.„  „„,  „„  4r^  *^^  have  re- 
in the  Umted  States,  except  slaves,  servants  •  ™d  n,., 
pe«  supported  by  the  townships,  ther;  is  no    iass  of  p": 
sons  who  do  not  exercise  the  elective  franchise,  a,"d  wl" 
do  not  md-rectly  contribute  to  make  the  law;.     Thc»e 


316 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


i^Bif 


^' 


who  wish  to  attack  the  laws  must  consequently  either 
change  the  opinion  of  the  nation,  or  trample  upon  its 
decision. 

A  second  reason,  which  is  still  more  direct  and  weighty, 
may  be  adduced  :  m  the  United  States,  every  one  is^per- 
8ona%  interested  irTenforcnTg^  ^ 

^^ommumTy' to  .tEeTa^vJ^or"as "  tlie  minority  may  shortly 
rally"  the  majority  to  its  principles,  it  is  interested  in  pro- 
fessing that  respect  for  the  decrees  of  the  legislator  which 
it  may  soon  have  occasion  to  claim  for  its  own.  However 
irksome  an  enactment  may  be,  the  citizen  of  the  United 
States  comphes  with  it,  not  only  because  it  is  the  work  of 
the  majority,  but  because  it  is  his  own,  and  he  regards  it  as 
a  contract  to  which  he  is  himself  a  party. 

In  the  United  States,  then,  that  numerous  and  turbulent 
multitude  does  not  exist,  Avho,  regarding  the  law  as  their 
natural  enemy,  look  upon  it  with  fear  and  distrust.  It  is 
impossible,  on  the  contrary,  not  to  perceive  that  all  classes 
display  the  utmost  reliance  upon  the  legislation  of  their 
country,  and  are  attached  to  it  by  a  kind  of  parental  af- 
fection. 

I^am  wrong,  however,  in  saying  all  classes  :  for  as,  in 
America,  the^  European  scale  of  authority  is  in  vPrfPfl,  the 
wealtHTare  there  placedin^^osition  analogous  to  that  of 
the  poor  jn  the  Old  Wprid,^nd  it  is  the  opulent  classes 
who  frequently  look  upon  the  law  with  suspicion.     I  have 
already  observed  tlat  the  advantage  of  demomcy  is  not, 
as  has  been  sometimes  asserted,  that  it  protects  the  inter- 
ests of  all,  but  simply  that  it  protects  those  of  the  majority. 
^ILthg_UnjtedStates^whprp  thp  poor, j:ttle»„th8.^lLhave 
l^ways  something  to  fear  from  the  abuse  of  their^jiQw^r. 
This  natural  anxiety  of  the  ricHmay  produce' a  secret  dis- 
satisfaction ;  but  society  is  not  disturbed  by  it,  for  the  same 
reason  which  withholds  the  confidence  of  the  rich  from  the 
legislative  authority,  makes  them  obey  its  mandates :  their 


/ 


as 


^ 


ADVANTAGES   OF   DEMOCRACY.  JJJJ 

tions,  only  tl,o™  ZuT    ^   ,  •    ^'"""^'^  ""''^"^  ""■ 

-,K.c.X::e  .:a;r:^^^^^^^^  -;>«.,.  wo...,.,  o. 

infrincro  tl.o  l„  J"*  ^^sptctea  ,  tor  tJiose  who  usimllv 

to  the  decis.C  of  fhl  1  •  I  "  ""■  ""''  """'''"•  ">  '"""ni' 
Besides, rTeopfe  '  A^  "",'  "''f'""  "'^'^  "'"y  ''- 
cause  it  is  theTr  work  bt  "'"^  ""  '"' '""  ""'^  ^ 

-posed  eyi,,  »a,  second,,,  it  is  .„  eyiro^f^^ra:!^ 


EHCISES    UPON™™TV  '    ™™^''««  ^V„,CH    IT   EX- 

More  difficult  to  coDceivc  tho  Pnliiwi  j  .■  ■ 

Sf^^a,  tl,»„  .he  Freedom  Ldp,r  '^'"*"  "■"  "'"'='' 

Activity  „,,icH  pct^etr.!  i,.,r,'''''T       f  "*"'  """'•  "  '""  S™' 

en  to  confine  l,i„,clfto  l,i,ow„  Bn^fner-i;^!  T^  ■■.°"  ''"'"■'■ 
to  all  social  Intercounse  -r„™»  """'f'  '  »'"'™l  Agnation  extend, 
...ril.„tal,le  to  tlTS^  TrTA^'""'^  °' '''°  ^"■™""»  P""'? 
«»".  a  DemocJo  GolTn,  en' ~'  ^''■""'«"  "'"*  ^"-'^  "--i 

all  is  bust,e  and  actiX    i, ^^tb '  .tr^' '  '"  "''  '■"™'^'-' 

.^thern.ri::i;i^T,7t;:;^t^^^^ 

Of  adyantages  alread,  ac,ui  J.    NTyr^lMhTer;' 


:•!      I 


¥ri  *■  ^ 


318 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


ifnf 


,    pi' 


wJuch  exerts  itself  so  strenuously  to  become  happy,  is  gen- 
erally  more  wealthy  and  prosperous  than  that  which^ai)- 
pears  so  contented  with  its  lot;  and  when  we  compare 
them,  we  can  scarcely  conceive  how  so  many  new  wants 
are  daily  felt  in  the  foi-mer,  whilst  so  few  seem  to  exist  in 
the  latter. 

If  this  remark  is  applicable  to  those  free  countries  which 
have  preserved  monarchical  forms  and  aristocratic  institu- 
tions. It  is  still  more  so  to  democratic  republics.  In  these 
States,  it  is  not  a  portion  only  of  the  people  who  endeavor 
to  improve  the  state  of  society,  but  the  whole  community 
IS  engaged  in  the  task ;  and  it  is  not  the  exigencies  and 
convenience  of  a  single  class  for  which  provision  is  to  be 
made,  but  the  exigencies  and  convenience  of  all  classes  at 
once. 

It  is  not  impossible  to  conceive  the  surprising  liberty 
.  which  the  Americans  enjoy ;  some  idea  may  likewise  be 
T)  formed  of  their  extreme  equahty ;  but  the  political  activity 
which  pervades  the  United  States  must  be  seen  in  order  to 
be  understood.     No  sooner  do  you  set  foot  upon  American 
ground,  than  you  are  stunned  by  a  kind  of  tumult ;  a  con- 
hised  clamor  is  heard  on  every  side ;  and  a  thi)usand  simul- 
taneous voices  demand  the  satisfaction  of  their  social  w^^ts.  ' 
Everything  is  in  motion  around  you ;  here,  the  people  of 
one  quarter  of  a  town  are  met  to  decide  upon  the  build- 
jng  of  a  church;  there,  the  election  of  a  representative  is 
going  on ;  a  little  further,lhe  delegates  of  a  district  are 
posting  to  the  town  in  order  to  consult  upon  some  local 
unprovements ;  in  another  place,  the  laborers  of  a  village 
qmt  their  ploughs  to  deliberate  upon  the  project  of  a  road 
or  a  public  school.     Meetings  are  called  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  declaring  their  disapprobation  of  the  conduct  of 
the  government;  whilst  in  other  assemblies,  citizens  salute 
the  authorities   of  the   day  as   the  fathers  of  their  coun- 
try.   Societies  are  formed  which  regard  drunkenness  as  the 


S' 


ADVANTAGES  OP  DEMOCRACY.  gjp 

T},«   ^    .    ^  ;.  ^'"^amplo  of  temperance  * 

elapses  of  the  neonl™  j  "'"<='> , ""g-nates  in  the  West 
ranks  of  so  tv  IH,  ""Hl'^'  '"ccessively  to  ail  the 
'l.e  V^rsuiZtvXZ     '        '"  '"  ^'•^'^  ""^  *''  "' 

occuStrV^eu!:™  LT'n  ?T'"™'  ?'=•-  ■■»  *« 
.the  o„I^  plea.u«  w S  an  aL   "'"'.'*'""  =  »<•  ■"'»-'  ■ 
partin  the  government  ,"1^    !  '""''"  '''  ""«k«  »     ' 

women   ftiquentlv  attend   „  1 1-            .        '*  =  *™»  *e 
poh-tical   l~fs    '   "     '^      "  ""'"''"S^-  '"<'  '«'»  to 

tute  fortheatrietl  e„t  rSnmenLan'A "'"''' ^"'"''- 
converse,  but  he  P«n  ^,-c         ™^7V  American  cannot 

sertation:  He'^e^Xout  if  \f  ^^"^.  f^^  ^  ^^«- 
meeting;  and  if  he  should  chanci  l  f  ""^  "^"^'"''^^  ^ 
^cussion,  he  will  sav  TnlT    *^,^^^«°»e  ^arm  in  the 

whom  he  L  conversini  '"  '''  ^^"^"  "^'^' 

In  som,e_countr?esrthp  ;»T.»u:^-,Titii    

'^yail  tliemselves  of  tlio  IJ-J'    1      :         ^   iinniilliiig   to 

..gives  tKem;  ft  wOT^|=  V-TO.  .  r 

u^rtK^r^^JSTtS^T^^^^     too  high  a  valie^^^  "^ 

f'*li!St.JiLfStiunk  feneer^al^TZllfl'T'' 
But  if  an  American  were  cnnrlT^rTr-Mr'^*^'  «««'«''• 

-H.owna.ai..he:„rrri::.rrety"«t 

<o  <iimi,d,h  the  coM„„pa„„"i^°^  '°""T' '  *■"'  '^'^  «*«  >-^  b«„ 


■*^tt1fe, 


i 


320 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


existence;  he  would  feel  an  immense  void  in  the  life 
which  he  is  accustomed  to  lead,  and  his  wretchedness 
would  be  unbearable.*  I  am  persuaded,  that,  if  over  a  des- 
potism should  be  established  in  America,  it  will  be  more 
difficult  to  overcome  the  habits  which  freedom  has  formed, 
than  to  conquer  the  love  of  freedom  itself. 
,      Tlih  jseaseless^^gitatiojnjwhic^^^^^  government 

£     l^asjntrod^e J^into  t^^^  world^.infliieii££a_all-«ocial 

intercourse.  I  am  not  sure  that,  upon  the  wliole,  this  is 
not  the  greatest  advantage  of  democracy ;  and  I  am  less 
inclined  to  applaud  it  for  what  it  does,  than  for  what  it 
causes  to  be  done. 

It  is  incontestable  that  the  people  frequently  conduct 
public  business  very  ill ;  but  it  is  impossible  that  the  lower 
ordei-s  should  take  a  part  in  public  business  wlrhout  ex- 
tenduig  the  circle  of  their  ideas,  and  quitting  the  ordinary 
routine  of  their  thoughts.  The  humblest  individual  who 
co-operates  in  the  government  of  society  acquires  a  certain 
degree  of  self-respect ;  and  as  he  possesses  authority,  he 
can  command  the  services  of  minds  more  enlightened  than 
his  own.  He  is  canvassed  by  a  multitude  of  applicants, 
and,  in  seeking  to  deceive  him  in  a  thousand  ways,  they 
really  enlighten  him.  He  takes  a  part  in  political  under- 
takings which  he  did  not  originate,  but  which  give  him  a 
taste  for  undertakings  of  the  kind.  New  improvements 
are  daily  pointed  '^ut  to  him  in  the  common  property,  and 
tliis  gives  him  the  desire  of  improving  that  property  which 
\»  his  own.  He  is  perhaps  neither  happier  nor  better  than 
those  who  came  before  him,  but  he  is  better  informed  and 
more  active.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  democratic  institu- 
tions of  the  United  States,  joined  to  the  physical  constitu- 

*  The  saino  remark  was  made  at  Rome  under  the  first  Caasnrs.  Mon- 
tesquieu somewhere  alludes  to  the  excessu'e  despondency  of  certain  Roman 
citizens,  who,  after  the  excitement  of  political  life,  Avere  all  at  once  flung  hack 
into  the  stagnation  of  private  life. 


ADVANTAGES  OF  DEMOCRACY.  J2l 

tion  Of  the  country,  are  the  cause  (not  the  direct  as  is  .n 
often  asserted,  but  the  indirect  cause)  of  the  nrn^' 

the  expe„e„ce  derived  from  legislation.  ^ 

When  the  opponents  of  democracy  assert  th»t  ,  .•     i 
n»n  perfo™s     ,at  he  undertakes  bS^thV^^S 
ment  ot  all,  it  appears  to  me  that  they  are  nVht      Th. 

n^er  seen  a  de.oc.ti^  gLrnn.e„t%f  ;i™  Sel  «;:: 

stances  and  the  dispositions  of  the  people  allow  democratic 
nsh  utions  to  exist,  tl.ey  do  not  display  a  regular  »d  ml 

tnings  we  1,  it  does  a  greater  number  of  things     Und  ,■ 
"s  sway,  the  grandeur  is  not  in  what  the  S"  .A-- 
tration  does,  but  in  what  is  done  withlf  H  ^rtlid  TfT 

-nnnen    but  it  produces  what  the  ablest  governments^  / 
fequently  unable  to  create;  namely,  an  IpervadinTa^  ^ 
Mess  activity,  a  superabundant  force,  and  an  efemv      . 
which  IS  inseparable  from  it,  and  which  n„y,  I.owevtr  S^,^"^ 
fevorable  circumstances  may  be,  produce  wonder  i,!^' 
are  the  true  advantages  of  democracy.-  ^ 

seem  to'beT"'  ^^'  "'''"  *'  '^^^""'<^  "^  Christendom 
seem  to  be  m  suspense,  some  hasten  to  assail  democracy  as 


3(1 
<t|| 


/ 


'^^*«^"^SWK%*i.i,,,5V3jj.jj^    ; 


322 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


w 


f|k 


a  hostile  power,  whilst  it  is  yet  growing ;  and  others  al- 
ready adore  this  new  deity  which  is  springing  forth  from 
chaos.  But  both  parties  are  imperfectly  acquainted  with 
the  object  of  their  hatred  or  their  woi-ship  ;  they  strike  in 
the  dark,  and  distribute  their  blows  at  random. 

We  must  first  understand  what  is  wanted  of  society  and 
its  government.  Do  you  wish  to  give  a  certain  elevation 
to  the  human  mind,  and  teach  it  to  regard  the  things  of 
this  world  with  generous  feelings,  to  inspire  men  with  a 
scorn  of  mere  temporal  advantages,  to  form  and  nourish 
strong  convictions,  and  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  honorable 
devotedness  ?  Is  it  your  object  to  refine  the  habits,  embel- 
lish the  manners,  and  cultivate  the  arts,  to  promote  the 
love  of  poetry,  beauty,  and  glory  ?  Would  you  constitute 
a  people  fitted  to  act  powerfully  upon  all  other  nations,  and 
prepared  for  those  high  enterprises  which,  whatever  be 
their  results,  will  leave  a  name  forever  famous  in  history  ? 
[f  you  believe  such  to  be  the  principal  object  of  society, 
ivoid  the  government  of  the  democracy,  for  it  would  not 
lead  you  with  certainty  to  the  goal. 

But  if  you  hold  it  expedient  to  divert  the  moral  and  in- 
tellectual activity  of  man  to  the  production  of  comfort,  and 
the  promotion  of  general  well-being ;  if  a  clear  understand- 
ing be  more  profitable  to  man  than  geniui ;  if  your  object 
be  not  to  stimulate  the  virtues  of  heroism,  but  the  habits 
of  peace  ;  if  you  had  rather  witness  \aces  than  crimes,  and 
are  content  to  meet  with  fewer  noble  deeds,  provided  of- 
fences be  diminished  in  the  same  proportion ;  if,  instead  of 
living  in  the  midst  of  a  brilliant  society,  you  are  contented 
to  have  prosperity  around  you ;  if,  in  short,  you  are  of 
opinion  that  the  principal  object  of  a  government  is  not 
to  confer  the  greatest  possible  power  and  glory  upon  the 
body  of  the  nation,  but  to  insure  the  greatest  enjoyment, 
and  to  avoid  the  most  misery,  to  each  of  the  individuals 
who   compose   it,  —  if  such  be  your  desire,  then  equal- 


ADVANTAGES  OF  DEMOCRACY. 


.    ^  323 

ize   the  conditions  of  men    anrl  oo*  vr  i.    i 

stitutions.  '  ^^  ^'^^^'^  democratic   in- 

*nr 'oTt:  rif « --  -''*-  -^"  -t 

™ake  the  best  ^l^ZT^Z"'''  '«'  ™  ^Oeavor  to 
"g  om  both  it/go^  Jdt .  M^'f  *»  "^  '"«''  h  find- 
-  t-e  ro^e,  afd^^p^ltteTr^rutTr ^  '^  ^"^ 


i'i}M 


324 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

UNLIMITED  POWER  OF  THE  MAJORITY  IN  THE  UNHED  STATES, 
AND  ITS   CONSEQUENCES. 

Natural  Strength  of  the  Majority  in  Democracies.  —  Most  of  the  American 
Constitutions  have  increased  this  Strength  by  artificial  Means.  —  How 
this  has  been  done.  —  Pledged  Delegates.  —  Moral  Power  of  the  Ma- 
jority.  —  Opinion  as  to  its  Infallibility.  —  Respect  for  its  Rights,  how 
augmented  in  the  United  States. 

THE  very  essence  of  democratic  government  consists  in 
the  absolute  sovereignty  of  the  majority ;  for  there  is 
nothing  in  democratic  states  which  is  capable  of  resisting 
it.  Most  of  the  American  constitutions  have  sought  to 
increase  this  natural  strength  of  the  majority  by  artificial 
means.* 

The  legislature  is,  of  all  political  institutions,  the  one 
which  is  most  easily  swayed  by  the  will  of  the  majority. 
The  Americans  determined  that  the  members  of  the  legis- 
lature should  be  elected  by  the  people  directly,  and  for  a 
vert/  brief  term,  in  order  to  subject  them,  not  only  to  the 
general  convictions,  but  even  to  the  daily  passions,  of  their 
constituents.  The  members  of  both  houses  are  taken 
from  the  same  classes  in  society,  and  nominated  in  the 
same  manner;  so  that  the  movements  of  the  legislative 

•  We  have  seen,  in  examining  the  Federal  Constitution,  that  the  efforts 
of  the  l^slators  of  the  Union  were  dirpcted  against  this  absolute  power. 
The  consequence  has  been,  that  the  Federal  government  is  more  independ- 
ent in  its  sphere  than  that  of  the  States.  But  the  Federal  government 
icarcely  ever  interferes  in  any  but  foreign  aflkirs ;  and  the  governments  of 
the  States  in  reality  direct  society  in  America. 


THE   UNUMITKD  POWER  OF   THE  MAJORITY.  325 

b^  more  and  more  .hose  .hich  were  naC^;!""^ 
darned  the  representatives  of  the  executive  p^oweTof  aU 

Custom  has  done  even  more  than  ]«w      a 

becoming  more  and  more  rne^intL  It^^TI""^  " 
which  will    In  ti.«       1    I  S  "'''*'  "•  tbe  United  States, 

applied  to  the  inte^r   T^''«"'eoor  of  equality  is  thus 
-.«.  in  its  ..t  retrtt  tya  ^1?^  S::tL*:; 


M 


ia:^i^i^^j^^^^^^^,^ 


326 


DEMOCBACY  IN  AMERICA, 


^iZ. 


hesitate  to  admit,  and  to  wliich  they  will  but  slowly  assent. 
Like  all  other  powers,  and  perhaps  more  than  any  other, 
the  authority  of  the  many  requires  the  sanction  of  time  in 
order  to  appear  legitimate.  At  first,  it  enforces  obedience 
by  constraint ;  and  its  laws  are  not  respected  until  they  have 
been  long  maintained. 

The  right  of  governing  society,  which  the  majority  sup- 
poses itself  to  derive  from  its  superior  intelligence,  was  in- 
troduced into  the  United  States  by  the  first  settlers ;  and 
tliis  idea,  which  of  itself  would  be  sufficient  to  create  a  free 
nation,  has  now  been  amalgamated  with  the  manners  of  the 
people  and  the  minor  incidents  of  social  life. 

The  French,  under  the  old  monarchy,  held  it  for  a 
maxim  that  the  king  could  do  no  wrong ;  and  if  he  did 
do  wrong,  the  blame  was  imputed  to  his  advisers.  This 
notion  made  obedience  very  easy ;  it  enabled  the  subject 
to  complain  of  the  law,  without  ceasing  to  love  and  honor 
the  lawgiver.  The  Americans  entertain  the  same  opinion 
with  respect  to  the  majority. 

The  moral  power  of  the  majority  is  founded  upon  yet 
another  principle,  which  is,  that  the  interests  of  the  many 
_^are  to  be  preferred  to  those  of  the  few.  It  will  readily 
be  perceived  that  the  respect  here  professed  for  the  rights 
of  the  greater  number  must  naturally  increase  or  diminish 
accordmg  to  the  state  of  parties.  When  a  nation  is  divided 
into  several  great  irreconcilable  interests,  the  privilege  of 
the  majority  is  often  overlooked,  because  it  is  intolerable  to 
comply  with  its  demands. 

If  there  existed  in  America  a  class  of  citizens  whom  the 
legislating  majority  sought  to  deprive  of  exclusive  priva- 
leges  which  they  had  possessed  for  ages,  and  to  bring  down 
from  an  elevated  station  to  the  level  of  the  multitude,  it  is 
probable  that  the  minority  would  be  less  ready  to  submit  to 
its  laws.  But  as  the  United  States  were  colonized  by  men 
holding  equal  rank,  there  is  as  yet  no  natural  or  ponna- 


I     'n 


THE  raUMITED  POWEK   OF  THE  MAJOBIIY.  327 

There  are  communities  in  which  Uie  members  of  tl.« 
mmonty  can  never  hope  to  draw  over  the  marority  to  th^r 
side  becau^,  they  must  then  give  up  the  verj^  poL  w^^  ,' 
-at  .ssne  between  them.  Thus,  an^ristocicy  eal  ^t 
become  a  majority  whilst  it  retains  iu  exclusive^riviWr 
^i^t^r;""'^^  '''  P-leges  without  ceasin/to  be^^' 

In  the  United  States,  poUtical  questions  cannot  be  taken 

up  m  so  geno.^  and  absolute  a  ma'nner;  and  all  ^ani^^^ 

willmg  to  recognize  the  rights  of  the  majority^  because 

hey  all  hope  at  some  time  to  be  able  to  exercise  them  L 

he.r  own  advantage.    The  majority,  therefore,  in   JialT 

country    exe«>Be  a  prodigious    actu^al    authorit;  Id    a 

exist  wh,  ,h  can  impede  or  even  retard  its  progress,  so  as 
to  make  .t  heed  the  complaints  of  those  whLTt  ll^Z 
upon  Its  path.     This  state  of  tilings  is  hannfiu  i^^^- 
and  dangerous  for  the  future.  * 


HOW  THE   OMNIPOTENCE    OF  THE    MAJOKITy  INCREASES     ,» 
AMERICA,  THE  IN8TABIUTY  OF  LEGIST  .Tm»!»^^ 
ISTRATION    INHERENT   IN    DEMO^ACT  "  *™™- 

..tralion  _  In  Amenc,  the  Pkm„„  ft,,  ^ocW  Improvement,  i,  .«!, 
greater,  but  leas  continnous,  than  in  Europe.  '^ 

I  HAVE  already  spoken  of  the  natural  defects  of  dem- 
«.ratic  mstitutions ;  each  one  of  them  increases  in  the  sa^e 
mtio  as  the  power  of  the  majority.  To  begin  withX 
most  e«dent  of  them  all,  the  mutability  of  the  laws  is  1 


iiji 


328 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


evil  inherent  in  a  democratic  government,  because  it  is  nat- 
ural to  democracies  to  raise  new  men  to  power.  But  this 
evil  is  more  or  less  sensible  in  proportion  to  the  authority 
and  the  means  of  action  which  the  legislature  possesses. 

In  America,  the  authority  exercised  by  the  legislatures  is 
supreme ;  nothing  prevents  them  from  accomplishing  their 
wishes  with  celerity,  and  with  irresistible  power,  and  they 
are  supplied  with  new  representatives  every  year.     That  is 
to  say,  the  circumstances  which  contribute  most  power- 
fiiUy  to  democratic  instability,  and  which  admit  of  the  free 
application  of  caprice  to  the  most  important  objects,  are 
here  in  full  operation.     Hence  America  is,  at  the  present 
day,  the  country  of  all  others  where  laws  last  the  shortest 
.    time.     Almost  all  the  American  constitutions  have  been 
amended  within  thirty  years:   there  is  therefore  not  on^ 
American  State  which  has  not  modified  the  principles  of 
its  legislation  in  that  time.     As  for  the  laws  themselves, 
a  single  glance  at  the  archives  of  the  different  States  of 
the  Union  suffices  to  convince  one,  that  in  America  the 
activity  of  the  legislator  never  slackens.     Not  that  the 
American    democracy  is   naturally  less   stable   than  any 
other,  but  it  is  allowed  to  follow,  in  the  formation  of  the 
laws,  the  natural  instability  of  its  desires.* 

The  omnipotence  of  the  majority,  and  the  rapid  as  well 
as  absolute  manner  in  which  its  decisions  are  executed  in 
the  United  States,  not  only  render  the  law  unstable,  but 
exercise  the  same  influence  upon  the  execution  of  the  law 
and  the  conduct  of  the  administration.     As  the  majority  is 

•  The  legislative  acts  promulgated  by  the  State  of  Massachusetts  alone, 
from  the  year  1780  tb  the  present  time,  already  fill  three  stout  volumes;  and 
It  most  not  be  forgotten  that  the  collection  to  which  I  allude  was  revised  in 
1823,  when  many  old  laws  which  had  fallen  into  disuse  were  omitted.  The 
Stote  of  Massachusetts,  which  is  not  more  populous  than  a  department  of 
Prance,  may  be  considered  as  the  most  stable,  the  most  consistent,  and  the 
most  sagacious  in  its  undertakings,  of  the  whole  Union. 


tb;  unlimited  power  of  the  majobitt.        829 

the  only  power  which  it  is  important  to  court,  all  its  pro. 
ject,  ^  taken  up  with  the  greatest  anlor;  bJt  no  soo^ 
;a  .U  attention  distracted,  than  all  this  ardJr  ceases ;  wZ 
m  the  free  sutes  of  Europe,  where  the  administrati^ru  a 
once  independent  and  secure,  the  projects  of  the  ^1^0 

Tor  otj^r"'"^'  -"  -■>»  '"  --''on  isC"JI 

In  America,  certain  improvements  are  prosecuted  with 
much  more  zeal  and  activity  than  eUewhel;  in  EuC 
the  same  ends  are  promoted  by  much  less  social  effS 
more  contmuously  applied. 

Some  yeara  ago,  several  pious  individuals  undertook  to 
amehorate  the  condition  of  the  prisons.  The  pubtte^ 
moved  by  their  statements,  and  the  reform  of  criminals  C 

for  the  fiist  fme,  the  idea  of  reforming  as  well  as  pun  shin, 
the  delmquent  formed  a  part  of  prison  discipline.  " 

But  th«  happy  change,  in  which  the  public  had  taken  so 
h  a«y  an  mter^t,  ^d  which  the  simultaneous  exertions  of 
the  cituens  rendered  irresistible,  could  not  be  completed  m 

w^wl     1.  ■"  °^'^"  ""Jo^y  ™  hastenmg  thf 

number  of  offender..    These  jaUs  became  more  unwfo^ 

:T:  "IZT  d  ^'^''T  r  *«  "«-  -tablishmel 
were  reformed  and  improved,  formmg  a  contrast  which 
may  r«.d.ly  be  unde^tood.    Tie  majority  was  so  eagerly 

2^      •'?  f  ""*"?  *'  ""="  P™""'-  *"'  *-«  which 
ateady  exited  were  forgotten;  and,  as  the  genend  atten- 

Uon  was  diverted  to  a  novel  object,  the  cal  which  hTd 

h  therto  been  bestowed  upon  the  othera  ceased.     The  sTl- 

utary  regulations  of  disciphne  were  fct  relaxed,  and  afto- 

a  n^        :"i  1°  """■  "  *"  '»'°«"'"«  neighUoJof 
spiAof  :''t  '""■r"""^''  *»  *«  ■»"<»  and'enUghtened 

ot  the  barbansm  of  the  Middle  Ages. 


m 


'1  i 


^30  DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 

TYRANNY   OP   THE   MAJORITY. 

How  the  Principle  of  the  Sovereignty  of  tlio  People  is  to  be  understood.  — 
Impossibility  of  conceiving  a  Mixed  Government.  —  The  Sovereign 
Power  must  exist  somewhere. —  Precautions  to  be  taken  to  control  its 
Action.  —  These  Precautions  have  not  been  taken  in  the  United  States. 
—  Consequences. 

I  HOLD  it  to  be  an  impious  and  detestable  maxim,  that, 
politically  speaking,  the  people  have  a  right  to  do  any- 
thing ;  and  yet  I  have  asserted  that  all  authority  originates 
in  the  will  of  the  majority.  Am  I,  then,  in  contradiction 
with  myself? 

A  general  law,  which  bears  the  name  of  justice,  has 
been  made  and  sanctioned,  not  only  by  a  majority  of  this 
or  that  people,  but  by  a  majority  of  mankind.  The  rights 
of  every  people  are  therefore  confined  within  the  limits  of 
what  is  just.  A  nation  may  be  considered  as  a  jury  which 
is  empowered  to  represent  society  at  large,  and  to  apply 
justice,  which  is  its  law.  Ought  such  a  jury,  which  rep- 
resents society,  to  have  more  power  than  the  society  itself, 
whose  laws  it  executes  ? 

When  I  refuse  to  obey  an  unjust  law,  I  do  not  contest 
the  right  of  the  majority  to  command,  but  I  simply  appeal 
from  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  to  the  sovereignty  of 
mankind.     Some  have  not  feared  to  assert  that  a  people 
can  never  outstep  the  boundaries  of  justice  and  reason  in 
those  aiFairs  which  are  peculiarly  its  own ;  and  that  conse- 
quently full  power  may  be  given  to  the  majority  by  which 
they  are  represented.     But  this  is  the  language  of  a  slave. 
A   majority  taken   collectively  is    only  an   individual, 
whose  opinions,  and  frequently  whose  interests,  are  op- 
posed  to   those   of  another  individual,   who  is  styled  a 
minority.     If  it  be  admitted  that  a  man  possessing  abso- 
lute power  may  misuse  that  power  by  wronging  his  adver- 
saries, why  should  not  a  majority  be  liable  lo  the  same 


THE   UNLIMITED   POWEB   OF  TUE  MAJORITY.  331 

repro«:h  ?    Men  do  not  change  tlieir  clmracters  by  uniting 
of  obstacles  mcm.se  with  their  strength.*    For  my  own 

which  I  should  refuse  to  one  of  my  equals,  I  will  nevw 
grant  to  any  number  of  them.         •'»''"  "ever 

I  do  not  think  that,  for  the  sake  of  preserving  liberty  it 

mme' t  '°  "t'"'  "™"'  P™"P'-  ■"  ">e  same  g;yl 
emment  so  as  really  to  oppose  them  to  one  another.  The 
form  of  goven.ment  which  is  usually  termed  mixed  has  al- 
ways  appeared  to  me  a  mere  chimera.  Accurately  speak- 
™g,  tliere  js  no  such  thing  as  a  nixed  govemnj,  l  the 

ense  usually  given  to  that  word,  because,  in  all  communi- 
^es,  some  one  principle  of  action  may  be  discovered  wUch 
preponderates  over  the  othe.,.  England,  in  the  last  cen- 
!r.?^'~/r  *"'"  ^P«™"y  cited  as  an  example  of 

.^/"ll-f  •"■"■"""'• -''^  "'^""'J'y  ""  aristocratic 
state,  although  it  comprised  some  great  elements  of  democ- 
racy;  for  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  country  were  such 
that  the  aristocracy  could  not  but  preponderate  in  the  Ion. 
run,  and  direct  public  affairs  according  to  its  own  will 
The  error  arose  from  seeing  the  interests  of  the  nobles 
perpetually  contending  with  those  of  the  people,  withou 
considering  the  issue  of  the  contest,  whfcli'wr^aUy 
the  important  pomt.     When  a  community  actually  li 
a  mixed  government, -that  is  to  say,  when  it  is  equally 
divided  between  adverse  principles,  -  it  must  either  V 
nence  a  revolution,  or  fell  into  anarchy  ' 

I  am  therefore  of  opinion,  that  social  power  superior  to 
all  others  must  always  be  placed  somewhere;  but  I  think 

h„,*  ^V°°  ""  ,"""•  """  °  '*"'''°  """«"  '""iWy  "«"(t  another  people  ■ 

T„T^      '  toward,  another  .„,„„,  j.  „„„„,  j,  ^^^  ,uTfZ 
may  do  the  same  towards  another  party.  ^^ 


■I 


I 


aa2 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


that  liberty  is  endangered  when  this  power  finds  no  obsta- 
cle which  can  retard  its  course,  and  give  it  time  to  moder. 
ate  its  own  vehemence. 

Unlimited  power  is  in  itself  a  bad  and  dangerous  thing. 
Human  beings  are  not  competent  to  exercise  it  with  dis- 
cretion. God  alone  can  be  omnipotent,  because  his  wisdom 
and  his  justice  are  always  equal  to  his  power.  There  is  no 
power  on  earth  so  worthy  of  honor  in  itself,  or  clothed 
with  rights  so  sacred,  that  I  would  admit  its  uncontrolled 
and  all-predominant  authority.  When  I  see  that  the  right 
and  the  means  of  absolute  command  are  conferred  on  any 
power  whatever,  be  it  called  a  people  or  a  king,  an  aristoc- 
racy or  a  democracy,  a  monarchy  or  a  republic,  I  say  there 
is  the  germ  of  tyranny,  and  I  seek  to  live  elsewhere,  under 
other  laws. 

In  my  opinion,  the  main  evil  of  the  present  democratic 
institutions  of  the  United  States  does  not  arise,  as  is  often 
asserted  in  Europe,  from  their  weakness,  but  from  their 
irresistible  strength.  I  am  not  so  much  alarmed  at  the 
excessive  liberty  which  reigns  in  that  country,  as  at  the  in- 
adequate securities  which  one  finds  there  against  tyranny. 

When  an  individual  or  a  party  is  wronged  in  the  United 
States,  to  whom  can  he  apply  for  redress?  If  to  pubhc 
opinion,  public  opinion  constitutes  the  majority ;  if  to  the 
legislature,  it  represents  the  majority,  and  implicitly  obeys 
it ;  if  to  the  executive  power,  it  is  appointed  by  the  major- 
ity, and  serves  as  a  passive  tool  in  its  hands.  The  public 
force  consists  of  the  majority  under  arms  ;  the  jury  is  the 
majority  invested  with  the  right  of  hearing  judic*  1  ^5  .-sj 
and  in  certain  States,  even  the  judges  are  elected  by  tbfl 
majority.  However  iniquitous  or  absurd  the  n^u^u^e  of 
which  you  complain,  you  must  submit  to  it  as  well  as  you 
can.* 

•  A  6tri^{og  instance  of  the  excesses  which  may  be  occaaioned  by  the 
despotism  of  ihc  uvvority  occurred  at  Baltimore  during  the  war  of  18U 


THE   UNUMITED  POWER  OF  THE  MAJORITY.  8SS 

be.W  r  >  '»!?'«»»"'  ""^  ™J»rity  without  neccsarily 
bemg  the  slave  of  ,ts  pa«,io„,,  an  executive  so  as  to  retail 
a  proper  share  of  authority,  and  a  judiciary  so  as  TZ 
m«n  independent  of  the  other  two  powe^,";.  govemmem 

factors      Bat  nv»n  fK-  '°^'*  P"^°"  •"  common  male- 

pliT  °"  "^^^r  •'''"^'^'^-*  «f  Pennsylvania.  ..Be  so  good  a«  to  ex- 
e/ pay  taxes ,  is  it  not  fair  that  they  should  vote » » 


.  ,'il 


384 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


would  be  formed  which  would  still  be  democratic,  without 
incurring  hardly  any  risk  of  tyranny. 

I  do  not  say  that  there  is  a  fi'equent  use  of  tyranny  in 
America  at  the  present  day ;  but  I  maintain  that  there  is 
no  sure  barrier  against  it,  and  that  the  causes  which  miti- 
gate the  government  there  are  to  be  found  in  the  circum- 
Btances  and  the  manners  of  the  country,  more  than  in  its 
laws.* 

*  This  whole  chapter  is  a  glowing  description  of  the  evils  whicli  are  to 
be  feared  in  the  United  Statec  from  an  abuse  of  the  immense  power  of  the 
majority.     In  the  main,  it  is  a  truthfiil  picture ;  and  yet  the  author  allows 
himself  to  be  so  far  heated  by  his  own  rhetoric  as  to  forget  the  checks  and 
limitations  of  this  dominant  p^  wer  which  he  has  himself  elsewhere  noticed. 
The  very  complexity  of  our  frame  of  government  enables  us  to  set  off  and 
balance  the  strength  of  one  majority  against  another.     Thus  the  Federal 
and  the  State  governments  mutually  restrain  and  limit  each  other,  while  each 
is  restricted  by  many  provisions  in  its  own  written  Constitution,  which  are 
of  the  nature  of  a  Bill  of  Rights.     No  law  can  be  passed  by  the  Federal 
Legislature  without  the  concurrence  of  a  majority  of  the  States  represented 
in  the  Senate,  wherein  little  Delaware,  with  only  one  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants,  has  as  potent  a  voice  as  the  Empire  State  of  New  York,  with 
its  three  and  a  half  milUons.     Even  the  sturdy  Ultle  New  England  town- 
ship,  so  admirably  described  elsewhere  by  M.  de  Tocqueville,  succeeds  in 
causing  its  rights  to  be  respected  in  the  State  Legislature,  where  it  is  im- 
mensely outnumbered,  because  the  other  townships  would  make  common 
cause  with  it  against  any  crying  injustice,  fearing  that  its  case  may  become 
their  own  at  some  future  day.     Moreover,  the  majority  in  a  State,  or  even 
in  the  United  States,  though  a  mighty,  is  also  an  unwieldy  power,  acting 
only  at  long  intervals,  once  a  year,  or  once  in  four  years,  and  then  through 
so  many  agents,  and  so  much  machinery,  that  the  force  of  its  blows  is 
greatly  impaired  before  they  reach  their  object.     It  is  only  a  figure  of 
speech  to  say  that  the  majority  of  the  people  make  the  laws,  because  they 
choose  the  members  ot  the  Legislature.     The  delegates  thus  chosen  respect 
their  constituents,  it  is  true,  and  strive  in  the  main  to  conform  to  their 
wishes;   and  yet  they  act  very  differently  from  what  those  constituents 
would  do,  if  allowed  to  come  together  whenever  they  pleased,  and  directly 
enact  any  law  that  pleased  them,  upon  any  subject.     The  necedsary  delays 
in  law-making,  the  compliance  with  established  forms,  the  suspensive  veto 
of  a  Governor  or  u  President,  the  fear  which  each  individual  legislator 
entertains  lest  the  proposed  enactment,  though  it  may  gratify  hia  Diesont 


:mBmi 


THE  OTLUIITED  POWER  OF  THE  JIAJOBITY. 


335 


n«^AHBrrRAET    ABTHORITV    OP    AMERICAN    PUBLIC  Z 

'■''Z^::y^l  ^-  ^-  ^  ^^"«  0«-  "i'^in  .  cen-. 

A  DISTINCTION  must  be  dmwn  between  tyranny  and 
arbitraiy  power.  Tyranny  may  be  exei^ised  b^2,s  of 
the  law  itaeU;  and  in  that  case  it  is  not  arbitraiy";  JbUra^ 
power  may  be  eKercised  for  the  public  good,  i7;h   h    S 

tlZlXTZL^TZ  n  ^-'"r  """-^ 

T    1    XT  .  "™'^'^yi  "  can  do  without  them. 

In  the  Umted  States,  the  omnipotence  of  the  maioritv 
>Wuch  .s  fa-  orable  to  the  legal  despotism  of  the  le^Stu^' 
hkewise  .avors  the  arbitrary  authority  of  the  n^istraS 

l«  mad.  «,  .hi„*„r«t'„'e  Z^J  f^l  *"  •""  '■'""■"°°' 
the  nm-orit,  onlr  „„7himT\-         «'*"''"•'»"•'■''  compose  1,  ,>« 

.     xie  will  also  reflect,  that  the  change  of  a  very  few  votos  ma^ 

!;t*.::stL°°  *:  °"-°'  *  ■■-  -^'"^  '^»  ™^  »■■«-  --s 

„f^,i!rr    ,      .'         "V^'CM  expedient  which  he  may  now  adoi.l 
W.U  the»  te  a  formidable  precedent  u,  be  „ed  a^ata.  him.  ' 

Sen,raUy  operates  in  Amenca  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  Negtoes  M   de 
B^rm  M,  *,e  ft„.en,  e^eut.  at  Paris,  and  ,  thousand  otiter  hi«,ric.I 


m 


m'm 


S36 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


The  majority  has  absolute  power  both  to  make  the  law  and 
to  watch  over  its  execution  ;  and  as  it  has  equal  authority 
over  those  who  are  in  power,  and  the  community  at  large, 
it  considers  public  officers  as  its  passive  agents,  and  readily 
confides  to  them  the  task  of  carrying  out  its  designs.  The 
details  of  their  office,  and  the  privileges  which  they  are  to 
enjoy,  are  rarely  defined  beforehand.  It  treats  them  as  a 
master  does  his  servants,  since  they  are  always  at  work  in 
his  sight,  and  he  can  lirect  or  reprimand  them  at  any 
instant. 

In  general,  the  American  functionaries  are  far  more  in- 
dependent within  the  sphere  which  is  prescribed  to  them 
than  the  French  civil  officers.  Sometimes,  even,  they  are 
allowed  by  the  popular  authority  to  exceed  those  bounds  ; 
and  as  they  are  protected  by  the  opinion,  and  backed  by 
the  power,  of  the  majority,  they  dare  do  things  which 
even  a  European,  accustomed  as  he  is  to  arbitrary  power, 
is  astonished  at.  By  this  means,  habits  are  formed  in  the 
heart  of  a  free  country  which  may  some  day  prove  fatal  to 
its  liberties. 


POWER    EXERCISED    BY    THE    MAJORITY    IN    AMERICA    UPON 

OPINION. 

In  America,  when  the  Majority  has  once  irrevocably  decided  a  Question,  all 
Discussion  ceases.  —  Reason  of  this.  —  Moral  Power  exercised  by  the 
Majority  upon  Opinion.  —  Democratic  Republics  have  applied  Despot- 
ism to  the  Minds  of  Men. 

It  is  in  the  examination  of  the  exercise  of  thought  in 
tlie  United  States,  that  we  clearly  perceive  how  far  the 
power  of  the  majority  surpasses  all  the  powers  with  which 
we  are  acquainted  in  Europe.  Thought  is  an  invisible  and 
subtile  power,  that  mocks  all  the  efforts  of  tyranny.  At 
the  present  time,  the  most  absolute  monarclis  in  Europe 
cannot  prevent  certain  opinions  hostile  to  their  authority 


THE  UNLIMITED  POWEB  OF  THE  MAJOBITY.     337 

from  Circulating  in  secret  through  their  dominion.,  and 
even  m  their  courts.    It  U  not  so  in  America ;  as  lo^.a, 

|«  soon  as  its  decision  is  irrevocably  pronounced,  every  one 
.8  silent,  and  the  friends  as  well  as  the  oppon;nts  Tf  "he 
measure  umte  in  assenting  to  its  proDrietv  Th. 
of  this  is  perfectly  clean  imonafcrrLjoter: 
eombine  all  the  powers  of  society  in  his  own  hands,ld 
to  conquer  all  opposition,  as  a  majority  is  able  to  do,  which 
has  the  right  both  of  making  and  of  executing  the  kws 

actlttr        '^-f  "  ■""«  '^  P'-y^'^"''  ™1  controls  the 
acuons  of  men  without  subduing  their  will.    But  the  ma! 

sCVmTT  I  ^""''  "'""''  '^  P'-y^''^*'  ™<'  -o'"!  "  the 

Zve^y  "^'""'""  ""'  °"'y  ""  '=°"'<«''  tut  aU  con- 

I  know  of  no  country  in  which  there  is  so  little  inde- 
pendence of  mind  and  real  freedom  of  discussion  rt 
America.  In  any  constitutional  state  in  Europe,  every  sort 
of  religious  and  political  theoiy  may  be  freety  pre^M 

subdued  by  any  single  authority,  as  not  to  protect  the  man 
who  raises  his  voice  in  the  cause  of  truth  from  the  cons^ 
quences  of  his  hardihood.     If  he  is  unfortunate  enouTtt 
live  under  an  absolute  government,  the  people  are  often 
upon  his  side;  if  he  inhabits  a  free  coumr/,  he    an    tf 
necessary,  find  a  shelter  behind  the  throne.^  The  ^ti 
crauc  part  of  society  supports  him  in  some  countrieri^ 
the  democracy  m  others.    But  in  a  nation  where  deml 
era  ic  institutions  exist,  organized  like  those  of  the  United 
States,  there  is  but  one  authority,  one  element  of  strength 
and  success,  with  nothing  beyond  it. 

» J"  i^T'r?'  ""^  ™"J°"'y  '■'"■'''^  formidable  barrier, 
around  the  liberty  of  opinion:  within  these  barriers  an 
author^ may  write  what  he  pleases;  but  woe  to  him  i}  h" 


t  |i 


f  > 


338 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


i 

1 

4 
i- 
5 

i 

f 


goes  beyond  them.  Not  that  he  is  in  danger  of  an  auto- 
da-f4^  but  he  is  exposed  to  continued  obloquy  and  per- 
secution. His  pohtical  career  is  closed  forever,  since  he 
has  offended  the  only  authority  which  is  able  to  open 
it.  Every  sort  of  compensation,  even  that  of  celebrity,  is 
refused  to  him.  Before  publishing  his  opinions,  he  im- 
agined that  he  held  them  in  common  with  others ;  but  no 
sooner  has  he  declared  them,  than  he  is  loudly  censured  by 
his  opponents,  whilst  those  who  think  like  him,  without 
having  the  courage  to  speak  out,  abandon  him  in  silence. 
He  yields  at  length,  overcome  by  the  daily  effort  which  he 
has  to  make,  and  subsides  into  silence,  as  if  he  felt  remorse 
for  having  spoken  the  truth. 

Fetters  and  headsmen  Avere  the  coarse  instruments  which 
tyranny  formerly  employed  ;  but  the  civilization  of  our  age 
has  perfected  despotism  itself,  though  it  seemed   to  have 
nothing  to  learn.     Monarchs  had,  so  to  speak,  materialized 
oppression:    the  democratic  republics  of  the  present  day 
have  rendered  it  as  entirely  an  affair  of  the  mind,  as  the 
will  which  it  is  intended  to  coerce.     Under  the  absolute 
sway  of  one  man,  the  body  was  attacked  in  order  to  sub- 
due the  soul ;  but  the  soul  escaped  the  blows  which  were 
directed  against  it,  and  rose  proudly  superior.     Such  is  not 
the  course  adopted  by  tyranny  in  democratic  repubhcs; 
there  the  body  is  left  free,  and  the  soul  is  enslaved.     The 
master  no  longer  says,  "  You  shall  think  as  I  do,  or  you 
shall  die  " ;  but  he  says,  "  You  are  free  to  think  differently 
from  me,  and  to  retain  your  life,  your  property,  and  all 
that  you  possess  ;  but  you  are  henceforth  a  straneer  amonw 
your  people.     You  may  retain  your  civil  rights,  but  they 
will  be  useless  to  you,  for  you  will  never  be  chosen  by 
your  fellow-citizens,  if  you  solicit  their  votes  ;  and  they  will 
affect  to  scorn  you,  if  you  ask  for  their  esteem.     You  will 
remain  among  men,  but  you  will  be  deprived  of  the  rights 
of  mankind.     Your  fallow-creatures  will  shun  you  hke  an 


THE  UNLIMITED  POWEE   OF  THE  MAJOEITr.  33c, 

'mpure  being ;  and  even  those  w1k>  believe  in  ™     ■ 
eence  will  abandon  you    lest  tl>„v    I      >I  u      T"  ""* 
their  turn.     Go  in  peace      T  t^      "    ''  ^  ''""""«'  '■» 
hutiUsane.iste„:e':::e-.ba?rtir"  ^°"  '"^  '"'' 

-•ender  it  less  odious  and  degn.d  „,  „!  ,;:r:?,t  "'  """ 
by  mak  ng  it  still  „„ro  „neL  to'tl^ett  "^  '  ""^'' 

the  OU  W^rld'^tZf;'''"'  '"  t  P™-^^"  -"-  of 
andthefomesof  tle'^Z''  Tf'^  '"  ''™™<'  *»  -<=- 
"CO  of  Loufa  XIV    J         l  ^'•"■"^^'^  '"■'^'''t^''  "'e  pal- 

.^eareat;::d^^:,;jj:;.t^^^^^^^^ 

nant;  from  the  forms  of  iu  In„n.  ^enaers  it  mdig- 

tnes  of  ,-f=  .1         .  ianguage  up  to  the  soHd  vir- 

:n„ir:To^:s:'::^rb^rf*-"^- 

ean  on.,  ieam  .0™  stra^.  ortt  l^J^^^' 

succeeds  much  be.terin  h"  ultd  St^  *"•  ""^'""'^ 
removes  any  wish  to  pubisl  th  '  ^Tl' T"  "  "''"^'^ 
met  with  in  Americri  ttt      •  ^"'''''"'^^"  «■■«  to  be 

infidelity.  Attc"  s  iav  b  ermade^b""'"''  "^"  "'' 
^ents  to  protect  — /by^ZhSglX/roX: 


340 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA, 


In  the  United  States,  no  one  is  punished  for  this  sort  of 
hooks,  but  no  one  is  induced  to  write  them ;  not  because 
all  the  citizens  are  immaculate  in  conduct,  but  because  the 
majority  of  the  community  is  decent  and  orderly. 

•  In  this  case  the  use  of  the  power  is  unquestionably  good ; 
and  I  am  discussing  the  nature  of  the  power  itself.  This 
irresistible  authority  is  a  constant  fact,  and  its  judicious 
exercise  is  only  an  accident.* 


EFFECTS  OF  THE  TYRANNY  OP  THE  MAJORITY  UPON  THE 
NATIONAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  AMERICANS. THE  COUR- 
TIER-SPIRIT   IN    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Effects  of  the  Tyranny  of  the  Majority  more  sensibly  felt  hitherto  on  the 
Manners  than  on  the  Conduct  of  Society.  —  They  check  the  Develop- 
ment of  great  Characters.  —  Democratic  Republics,  organized  like  the 
United  States,  infuse  the  Courtier-spirit  into  the  Mass  of  the  People.  — 
Proofs  of  this  Spirit  in  the  United  States,  —  Why  there  is  more  Patriot- 
ism in  the  People  than  in  those  who  govern  in  their  Name. 

The  tend' ncies  which  I  have  just  mentioned  are  as 
yet  but  slightly  perceptible  in  political  society ;  but  they 
already  exercise  an  unfavorable  influence  upon  the  national 
character  of  the  Americans.  I  attribute  the  small  number 
of  distinguished  men  in  political  life  to  the  ever-increasin*^ 
despotism  of  the  majority  in  the  United  States. 

"When  the  American  Revolution  broke  out,  they  arose 
in  great  numbers ;  for  public  opinion  then  served,  not  to 
tyrannize  over,  but  to  direct  the  exertions  of  individuals. 
Those  celebrated  men,  sharing  the  agitation  of  mind  com- 

•  De  Tocqueville's  remarks  on  this  subject  are  rhetorical,  ami  altogether 
too  highly  colored.  It  is  notorious,  that,  in  politics,  morality,  and  religion, 
the  most  offensive  opinions  are  preached  and  printed  every  wo(!k  here  in 
America,  apparently  for  no  other  purpose  than  that  of  shocking  the  senti- 
ments  of  the  great  bulk  of  the  community.  Instead  of  complaining  of  the 
bondage  of  thought,  the  judicious  observer  will  rather  grieve  at  the  extreoN 
Ucontionsness  of  the  rostrum  and  the  press.  —  Am.  Ed. 


THE   UNlmiTED  POWER   OF   THE  MAJOEITV.  341 

means  borrowed  fi-om  T  """'  ■""  "^  ''^  "" 

In  absolute  governments,  the  creat  nnH».  1 
ost  to  the  throne  flatter  the  nlC!  „T^  "'"'  ""''  "^ 
voluntarily  truckle  to  his  4^™"  "'„ ^V^-'g"'  "nd 
nation  does  not  degrade  i^rhl  ■"' *^  "^^^  <^  '>>e 
■ni^  from  weakness:  fl  h  bit^lT'^'V  "  »»-  -•>- 
sometimes  from  lova  tv   %  "^  'Sn»™nee,  and 

to  sacrifice  the"  oTnLr^Tth"""':  Y'"  '^'^  '"'<'™ 
P  We  and  pride.  LtXit^  fo^'y^r^""'"' 
of  mmd  in  the  very  act  of  «,  k    ■'^  •  independence 

— ,e  but  the;::  it^z.  ^:Tr-: 

diflference  between  doina  what  ono  /  ^reat 

feigning  to  approve  whaf  ole  does  t^H  ""•  'r™™'  ""<' 
of  a  feeble  pe.o„,  the  otherbtfl:  'th  I:;':  If  V^te"^^' 

In  free  countries,  where  PVAn,r  «      •    ^  ^^^^^- 

upon  to  give  his  opi;io„ I  S  Ts;?""-",'"^  •'^'^<' 
republics,  where  public  life  isressandv™"'";  t""™''*^ 
mestic  affairs,  where  th»  .      ™essanUy  mmgled  with  do- 

ment  of  character  """''  '^'™^'™  detoe- 

ff—lTa^ranT-tl^^^^^^^^^ 

states  organi^dlike^  e  1^0™ '^P  "^  '7"""""= 
power  of  the  majority  is  so  ZZr^tl^^^tl 
one  must  ^ve  up  his  rights  as  a  citizen,  andX^'l^^^' 


I    I 


342 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


|i,  ' 


his  qualities  as  a  man,  if  he  intends  to  stray  from  the  track 
which  it  prescribes. 

In  that  immense  crowd  which  throngs  the  avenues  to 
power  in  the  United  States,  I  found  very  few  men  who 
displayed  that  manly  candor  and  masculine  independence 
of  opinion  which  frequently  distinguished  the  Americans 
in  former  times,  and  which  constitutes  tiie  leading  feature 
in  distinguished  characters  wheresoever  they  may  be  found. 
It  seems,  at  first  sight,  as  if  all  the  minds  of  the  Ameri- 
cans were  formed  upon  one  model,  so  accurately  do  they 
follow  the  same  route.  A  stranger  does,  indeed,  sometimes 
meet  with  Americans  who  dissent  from  the  rigor  of  these 
formularies,  —  with  men  who  deplore  the  defects  of  the 

laws,  the  mutability  and  the  ignorance  of  democracy, 

who  even  go  so  far  as  to  observe  the  evil  tendencies  which 
impair  the  national  character,  and  to  point  out  such  reme- 
dies as  it  might  be  possible  to  apply ;  but  no  one  is  there  to 
hear  them  except  yourself,  and  you,  to  whom  these  secret 
reflections  are  confided,  are  a  stranger  and  a  bird  of  pas- 
sage. They  are  very  ready  to  communicate  truths  which 
are  useless  to  you,  but  they  hold  a  different  language  in 
public. 

If  ever  these  lines  are  read  in  America,  I  am  well  as- 
sured of  two  things;  —  in  the  first  place,  that  all  who 
pemse  them  will  raise  their  voices  to  condemn  me  ;  and, 
in  the  second  place,  that  many  of  them  will  acquit  me  at 
the  bottom  of  their  conscience. 

I  have  heard  of  patriotism  in  the  United  States,  and  I 
have  found  true  patriotism  among  the  people,  but  never 
among  the  leaders  of  the  people.  This  may  be  explained 
by  analogy :  despotism  debases  the  oppressed  much  more 
than  the  oppressor :  in  absolute  monarchies,  the  king  often 
has  great  virtues,  but  the  courtiers  are  invariably  servile. 
It  is  true  that  American  courtiers  do  not  say  "  Sire,"  or 
♦^  Your   Majesty,"  —  a   distinction   without   a   difference 


THE  CNLMTED  POWER   OF  IHE  MAJOMlr.  343 

ney  are  forever  talking  of  the  natural  intelli<.ence  of  tl,- 

concubines;  but,  by  sacrificincr  their  oDinlnnT  .?  ' 

tute  themselves.  Morahsts  atd  ll  ^  r  '  '"^  ^'''''" 
are  not  obhged  to  concea  their  ^^'}''''^^J  ^"  ^^^^^ca 
allecrorv  •  b,^t  Kof      ^u  ''^'"'''"'  ""^^^  ^^^^  veil  of 

^ho„M„ot~tl     nXTw-llfn    ^-^ 

"rmy  ot  treed om  than  all  the  rest  of  the  world  "    TKo  c 
ophants  of  Louis  XIV.  could  not  ft  J  ,  '^'^" 

T?^  ^  ^  "®*  natter  more  dexteroncslv 

and  adu.atio:;':?!  o  „rsrt[ :;?  ^-^^  '"f^^^' 


THE     GREATEST     DANOFPq     nr.     «,, 

of  Eampe.  JS^"^rl^™/f '^t  •""■  •"»»  »f  "■«  Moo„ehic, 
Jeffe^.  up„„  wfpor    "^  '^°'  "'"-OP'-on.of  Madi^oand 

•J^nny-     In  the  former  case,  their  power  escapes  from 


t  i| 


-■Jli 


344 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


iW        'u 


t       ill 


IB      I ' 


tliem  ;  it  is  wrested  from  their  grasp  in  the  latter.     M&uy 
observers  who  liave  witnessed  the  anarchy  of  democratic 
states,  have  imagined  that  the  government  of  those  states 
was  naturally  weak  and   impotent.     The   truth   is,  that, 
when  war  is  once  begun  between  parties,  the  government 
loses  its  control  over  society.     But  I  do  not  think  that  a 
democratic  power  is  naturally  without  force  or  resources  ; 
say,  rather,  that  it  is  almost  always  by  the  abuse  of  its 
force,  and  the  misemployment  of  its  resources,  that  it  be- 
comes a  failure.     Anarchy  is  almost  always  produced  by 
its  tyranny  or  its  mistakes,  but  not  by  its  want  of  strength. 
It  is  important  not  to  confound  stability  with  force,  or 
the  greatness  of  a  thing  with  its  duration.     In  democratic 
republics,  the  power  which  directs*  society  is  not  stable; 
for  it  often  changes  hands,  and  assumes  a  new  direction. 
But,  whichever  way  it  turns,  its  force  is  almost  irresistible. 
The  governments  of  the  American  republics  appear  to  me 
to  be  as  much  centralized  as  those  of  the  absolute  monarch- 
ies of  Europe,  and  more  energetic  than  they  are.     I  do  not, 
therefore,  imagine  that  they  will  perish  from  weakness.f 

If  ever  the  free  institutions  of  America  are  destroyed, 
that  event  may  be  attributed  to  the  omnipotence  of  the 
majority,  which  may  at  some  future  time  urge  the  minor- 
ities to  desperation,  and  oblige  them  to  have  recourse  to 
pliysical  force.  Anarchy  will  then  be  the  result,  but  it 
will  have  been  brought  about  by  despotism. 

Mr.  Madison  expresses  the  same  opinion  in  the  Federal- 
ist, No.  51.     "  It  is  of  great  importance  in  a  republic,  not 

*  This  power  may  be  centralized  in  an  assembly,  in  which  case  it  will  be 
strong  without  being  stable;  or  it  may  be  centralized  in  an  indiridaal,  in 
which  case  it  will  be  less  strong,  but  more  stable. 

t  I  presume  that  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remind  the  reader  here,  aa  well 
as  throughout  this  chapter,  that  I  am  speaking,  not  of  the  Federal  govern 
ments,  but  of  the  several  governments  of  each  State,  which  the  majority 
controls  at  its  pleasure. 


THK  TOLIMITED   POVfEB  OF  THE  MAJOBIIV.  845 

tice  of  the  other  Z^  T  ?•  •  T""^  "Sai-st  the  inju,- 
Xt  is  .heendof  eW'Jrer  I  ""  T'  »/ eovorn  J„t. 
will  be,  pursued  u"  ilT^'  .^'-T'""  "^o"- ""d  ever 
lost  in   he  p^l     ?„  •       "'"f'  ""^  ""'"  '"»"^y  be 

the  stronirr  ■•         '  "^"'y'  ""''^■-  "'«  f"™'  of  which 
uie  stronger  faction  can   readily  units  »„J   „  , 

weaker,  anarehy  may  as  truly  L'^  f      •  '^'"'^'   "" 

which  may  protect  the  weak  I  well  a,  1       Sovernment 
the  former  state  will  >h7  „     themselves,  so,  in 

..ally  induct  tr  ike  mT  T'-l^' .^"'""^  >"  S''"'- 
which  will  proLt  T.T     .i°  '"'^  '^^  "  government 

of  government  TtV      ^  f  ^  *  ""^''  *^"  P«P"^^r  ft>mi 

"5d  sin:  vz  ftte'"'- "tr  -^  *^  "-p-^ 

wh.e  misrule  had  t^^^^^^  ^J"' '^"'- 
J^7t ;  rt^f  '■  ,"  ^''\--"'-  power  in  our  gov- 
objeTo   my     lildT^'hT  ""*  T"  *«  P"-W, 

Dower  will  «n™„  •     V  .       'J^^""y  ot  the  executive 

power  wUl  come  in  its  turn,  but  at  a  more  distant  period  " 

I  am  glad  to  cite  the  opinion  of  Jeffemn  upon  thnl 

ect  rather  than  that  of  any  other,  because  I  co"  sider  ht 

Ae  most  powerful  advocate  democracy  has  ever  haf 

IS* 


iffWil; 


I- 


rpi 


4 


ii  t 


'•I 


k 


846 


DKMOCRACY   IN   AMKRlCA. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

CAUSES    WHICH    MITIGATE    THE    TYRANNY  OF   THE    MAJORITY 
IN   THE   UNITED  STATES. 

ABSENCE   OP   CENTRALIZED   ADMINISTRATION. 

The  National  Majority  docs  not  pretend  to  do  everything.  —  Is  obb'ged  to 
employ  tlie  Town  and  County  Magistrates  to  execute  its  sovereign  Will. 

T  HAVE  already  pointed  out  the  distinction  between 
-1.  a  centralized  government  and  a  centralized  adminis- 
tration. The  former  exists  in  America,  but  the  latter  is 
nearly  unknown  there.  If  the  directing  power  of  the 
American  communities  had  both  these  instruments  of  frov- 
ernment  at  its  disposal,  and  united  the  habit  of  executing 
its  commands  to  the  right  of  commanding ;  if,  after  having 
established  the  general  principles  of  govemment,  it  d^ 
scended  to  the  details  of  their  application ;  and  if,  having 
regulated  the  great  interests  of  the  country,  it  could  de- 
scend to  the  circle  of  individual  interests,  freedom  would 
soon  be  banished  from  the  New  World. 

But  in  the  United  States,  the  majority,  which  so  fre- 
quently displays  the  tastes  and  the  propensities  of  a  despot, 
is  still  destitute  of  the  most  perfect  instruments  of  tyranny. 
In  the  American  republics,  the  central  government  has 
never  as  yet  busied  itself  but  with  a  small  number  of 
objects,  sufficiently  pi-ominent  to  attract  its  attention.  The 
secondary  affairs  of  society  have  never  been  regulated  by 
its  authority ;  and  nothing  has  hitherto  betrayed  its  desire 
of  even   interfering   in    them.     The   majority   is   become 


MITOATIONS  OF  THE  TVBANNV   OF  THE  MAJOR.TT.     847 

more  „„,!  absolute,  but  ha,  „„t  increased  the  nrero^. 

ame,  of  the  central  government :  those  great  nt^roS 

represent,  that  majority  ha,  issued  a  1,.°^"   „„!, 
•™t  the  e.xeeution  of  it,  will  to  agent,,  „vr;homf" 

airect.     l|,e  townships,  municipal   bodies,  and  eounti,:, 
fcnn  so  man,  concealed  breakwater.,  which  check  o.p 
the  tide  of  popular  determination.     If  an  onnre„iv»  l! 
were  passed,  liberty  would  still  be  protected  bytLlr 

i-rauve  tyranny.     It  does  not  even  imao-ine  thnf  if  .„     j 

w:  uxe:ter  o7r-^-T  -^  ''^  — ^" " 

.uainted  ^^^f  tl-Sr-  ^•"  '^  ^ 
■I  ins  point  deserves  attention  •  f^,.  ,v      j 

public,  similar  to  that  of  tlUntV  Stat       ""■''"  '" 
FnnnA^A  •  unitea  fetates,  were  ever 

do  not  hesitate  to  assert  tbo,    •         ,  "'<=  people,  I 

absolute  monaihies    of  £1^    'or   ""' '"-'?  "^  "" 
-Wch  could  be  found  on  tC^i  of  i  ^"'   '"""  ""^ 


T " "  ' 

F 

1 
1' 

lb 

V    >! 


I 


348 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


§  4t 


fci.ii?t 


i 

'1 

i 

I- 

i 

t 

THE    PROFESSION     OF    THE     LAW    IN     THE     UNITED    8TATK8 
SERVES    TO    COUNTERPOISE    THE    DEMOCRACY. 

Dtility  of  ascertaining  what  are  the  i.atural  Instincts  of  the  Legal  Pro- 
fession. —  These  Men  are  to  act  a  prominent  Part  in  f^iture  Society.  ~ 
How  the  peculiar  Pursuits  of  Lawyers  give  an  aristocratic  Turn  to 
their  Ideas.  —  Accidental  Causes  which  may  check  this  Tendency.— 
Ease  with  which  the  Aristocracy  coalesces  with  Legal  Men.  —  Use  of 
Lawyers  to  a  Despot.  —  The  Profession  of  the  Law  constitutes  the  only 
aristocratic  Element  with  which  the  natural  Elements  of  Democracy 
will  combine.  — Peculiar  Causes  which  tend  to  give  an  aristocratic  Turn 
of  Mind  to  English  and  American  La^vycrs.  —  The  Aristocracy  of 
America  is  on  the  Bench  and  at  the  Bar.  —  Influence  of  Lawyers  upon 
American  Society.  —  Their  peculiar  Magisterial  Spirit  affects  the  Legis- 
lature, the  Administration,  and  even  the  People. 

In  visiting  tlie  Americans  and  studying  their  laws,  we 

perceive  that  the  authority  they  liave  intrusted  to mbers 

of  the  legal  profession,  and  the  influence  which  these  indi- 
viduals exercise  in  the  government,  is  the  most  powerful 
existing  security  against  the  excesses  of  democracy.  This 
effect  seems  to  me  to  result  from  a  general  cause,  which  it 
is  useful  to  investigate,  as  it  may  be  reproduced  elsewhere. 

The  members  of  the  legal  profession  have  taken  a  part 
in  all  the  movements  of  political  society  in  Europe  for  the 
last  five  hundred  years.  At  one  time,  they  have  been  the 
instruments  of  the  political  authorities,  and  at  another, 
they  have  succeeded  in  converting  the  political  authorities 
into  their  instruments.  In  the  Middle  Ages,  they  afforded 
a  powerful  support  to  the  Crown ;  and  since  that  period, 
they  have  exerted  themselves  effectively  to  limit  the  royal 
prerogative.  In  England,  they  have  contracted  a  close 
alliance  with  the  aristocracy :  in  France,  they  have  shown 
themselves  its  most  dangerous  enemies.  Under  all  these 
circumstances,  have  the  members  of  the  legal  profession 
been  swayed  by  sudden  and  fleeting  impulses,  or  have  they 
been  more  or  less  impelled  by  instincts  which  ai*e  natural 


MITIGATIONS   OF  THE   TY3ANNY  OF  THE   MAJORITY.     349 

to  them,  and  which  wiU  always  recur  in  histonr?  I  am 
incited  to  this  investigation,  for  perhaps  this  particular  class 
ot  men  will  play  a  prominent  part  in  the  political  society 
which  IS  soon  to  be  created.  , 

Men  who  have  made  a  special  study  of  the  laws  derive 
trom  tlus  occupation  certain  habits  of  order,  a  taste  for  for- 
mahties,  and  a  kind  of  instinctive  regard  for  the  regular 
connection  of  ideas,  which  naturally  render  them  very  hos- 
tile to  the  revolutionary  spirit  and  the  unreflecting  passions 
of  the  multitude. 

The  special  information  which  lawyers  derive  from  their 
studies  insures  them  a  separate  rank  in  society,  and  they 
constitute  a  sort  of  privileged  body  in  the  scale  of  intellect. 
Ihis  notion  of  their  superiority  perpetually  recurs  to  them 
m  the  practice  of  their  profession :  they  are  the  masters  of 
a  science  which  is  necessary,  but  which  is  not  very  gen- 
erdly  known :  they  serve  as  arbiters  between  the  citizens  • 
mid  the  habit  of  directing  to  their  purpose  the  Wind  pas- 
sions of  parties  in  htigation,  inspires  them  with  a  certain 
contempt  for  the  judgment  of  the  multitude.     Add  to  this 
that  they  naturally  constitute  a  body;  not  by  any  previous' 
understanding,  or  by  an  agreement  which  directs  them  to  a 
common  end;  but  the  analogy  of  their  studies  and  the  uni- 
formity  of  their  methods  connect  their  minds  together,  as 
a  common  interest  might  unite  their  enaeavors. 

Some  of  the  tastes  and  the  habits  of  the  aristocracy  may 
consequently  be  discovered  in  the  characters  of  lawyers 
They  participate  in  the  same  instinctive  love  of  order  and 
formalities ;  and  they  entertain  the  same  repugnance  to  the 
actions  of  the  multitude,  and  the  same  secret  contempt  of 
the  government  of  the  people.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
the  natural  propensities  of  lawyers  are  sufficiently  strong. 
to  sway  them  irresistibly ;  for  they,  Hke  most  other  men" 
are  governed  by  then-  private  interests,  and  especially  by 
the  interests  of  the  moment. 


*..i 


350 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


In  a  state  of  society  in  which  tlie  members  of  tlie  legal 
profession  cannot  hold  that  rank  in  the  political  world 
which  they  enjoy  in  private  life,  we  may  rest  assured  that 
they  will  be  the  foremost  agents  of  revolution.  But  it 
must  then  be  inquired,  whether  the  cause  which  then 
induces  them  to  innovate  and  destroy  results  from  a  per- 
manent disposition  or  from  an  accident.  It  is  true  that! 
lawyers  mainly  contributed  to  the  overthrow  of  the  French ' 
monarchy  in  1789 ;  but  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  they 
acted  thus  because  they  had  studied  the  laws,  or  because 
they  were  prohibited  from  making  them. 

Five  hundred  years  ago,  the  English  nobles  headed  the 
people,  and  spoke  in  their  name  ;  at  the  present  time,  the 
aristocracy  support  the  throne,  and  defend  the  royal  pre- 
rogative.    But  aristocracy  has,  notwithstanding  this,  its 
peculiar  instincts  and  propensities.     We  must  be  careful 
not  to  confound  isolated  members  of  a  body  with  the  body 
Itself.     In  all  free  governments,  of  whatsoever  form  they 
may  be,  members  of  the  legal  profession  will  be  found  in 
the  front  ranks  of  all  parties.     The  same  remark  is  also 
applicable  to  the   aristocracy;   almost  all  the  democratic 
movements  which  have  agitated  the  world  have  been  di- 
rected  by  nobles.     A  privileged  body  can  never  satisfy 
the  ambition  of  all  its  members :  it  has  always  more  tal- 
ents and  more  passions  than  it  can  find  places  to  content 
and  employ  ;  so  that  a  considerable  number  of  individuals 
are  usually   to  be  met  with,  who  are  inclined  to  attack 
those  very  privileges  which  they  cannot  soon  enough  tum 
to  their  own  account. 

I  do  not,  then,  assert  that  all  the  members  of  the  legal 
profession  are,  at  all  times,  the  friends  of  order  and  the 
opponents  of  innovation,  but  merely  that  most  of  them  are 
usually  so.  In  a  community  in  which  lawyers  are  allowed 
to  occupy  without  opposition  that  high  station  which  natu- 
rally belongs  to  them,  their  general  spirit  wiU  be  eminently 


MITIGATIONS   OF  THE  TYRANNY  OF  THE   MAJORITY.     35J 

conservative  and  anti-demoeratiV       WK 

excludes  the  leaders  TlhJT^    •       .      ^"  ^"^^^^racj 

it  w;XT^r;r^-  ^-^  --"y.  and  .s,™e,  . 

most  serviceable  instru  J„  n/rjtCr  V'"  ■'"' 
far  greater  affinity  between  tbi,  .iT:  Arsons  Z  H 

just  as  there  is  a  greater  natnrul  affinirbetl™  n  t  .f  nlT '' 
Lawyers  are  attached  to  public  order  Kpvn^^ 

men  of  the,r  mdependence,  they  are  not  dissatisfied. 
I  am  therefore  convinced  that  the  prince  who,  in  pr»s- 

ZJ,r  TT'''"^  '^""""""'^y-  *-'<•  end;3-s 

.mpa.r  the  judical  authority  in  his  dominion,  and  to 
d.mm,sh  the  political  influence  of  lawyers,  wo.^d  Toll 
a^great  mistake:   be  would  let  slip  Z  subs:::^feTr 

lJT„IIi7,f.;tt:  th?  ^"•'" ''"  ■""-  -'-'^ 

..nisted  desp-tismrt.;  :    ^def  rS 'ftolLt^ 


tiiiiiil 


Mil 


362 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


perhaps  he  would  find  it  again  in  their  hands  under  the 
external  features  of  justice  and  law. 

The  government  of  democracy  is  favorable  to  the  poht- 
ical  power  of  lawyers ;  for  when  the  wealthy,  the  noble, 
and  the  prince  are  excluded  from  the  government,  the  law- 
yers take  possession  of  it,  in  their  own  right,  as  it  were, 
since  they  are  the  only  men  of  information  and  sagacity, 
beyond  the  sphere  of  the  people,  who  can  be  the  object  of 
the  popular  choice.     If,  then,  they  are  led  by  their  tastes 
towards  the  aristocracy  and  the  prince,  they  are  brought 
in  contact  with  the  people  by  their  interests.     They  like 
the  government  of  democracy,  without  participating  in  its 
propensities  and  without  imitating  its  weaknesses ;  whence 
they  derive  a  twofold  authority  from  it  and  over  it.     The 
people  in  democratic  states  do  not  mistrust  the  members  of 
the  legal  profession,  because  it  is  known  that  they  are  in- 
terested to  serve  the  popular  cause ;  and  the  people  listen 
to  them  without  irritation,  because  they  do  not  attribute 
to  them  any  sinister  designs.      The  lawyers  do  not,  in- 
deed, wish  to   overthrow  the   institutions   of  democracy, 
but   they  constantly  endeavor   to  turn  it  away  from  its 
real  direction  by  means  which  are  foreign  to  its  nature. 
Lawyers  belong  to  the  people  by  birth  and  interest,  and 
to  the  aristocracy  by  habit  and  taste ;  they  may  be  looked 
upon  as  the  connecting  Hnk  of  the  two  great  classes  of 
society. 

The  profession  of  the  law  is  the  only  aristocratic  element 
which  can  be  amalgamated  without  violence  with  the  nat- 
ural elements  of  democracy,  and  be  advantageously  and 
permanently  combined  with  them.  I  am  not  ignorant  of 
the  defects  inherent  in  the  character  of  this  body  of  men  ; 
but  without  this  admixture  of  lawyer-like  sobriety  with 
the  democratic  principle,  I  question  whether  democratic 
institutions  could  long  be  maintained;  and  I  cannot  be- 
lieve that  a  republic  could  hope  to  exist  at  the  present 


MITlaUIOXS   OF  THE  TYIUMV  OP  THE  MAJOWTV.     353 

the  unitS^i^rra :  riT*  *-""""^  r"^"  » 
of  Ih  iS  ;sr:'r;""''7''-'  "^''"  *^  ^^--^ 

ety      ThTpr,  7        J  .   "P™  *^  general  course  of  soci- 

2-bIlK'e  UtrT  '"^'^^^  '"^^^«^'«  '">- 

have  been  done    tie  Z,      T''  '"''"'"'  "'>'"  *'"^'i 
uone.  tne  tonner  produce  precedents-  tl„.  i». 

t»r,  reasons.    A  French  obsei^ver  is  suLfsed  t"  'l-     >- 

often  an  English  or  an  American  la3  oul,  C 

.ons  of  others,  and  how  little  he  allud^to  W     w^-VE 

the  reverse  occurs  in  Franpp      Ti,       .i,  *        "^* 

-Trance.     Ihere  the  most  tn'fli'nr,  i;** 

and  t  J «  .  ""T  P"""''"'  *»  *«  ^""n^el  employed 
olr  t  oJ,  """  r "P'"  °'"  '''^  -«  discufseTin 
c^rt      Tht    K   "  ^'^^  f  '™''  •'y  *e  decision  of  the 

g  ve  nun  more  timid  habits  and  more  conservative  in,.!™, 
fons  in  England  and  America  than  in  France  "'" 

Thejrench  codes  are  often  difficult  of  comprehemion, 


i^ 


354 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


f-V  II 


li    <i 


mm 


but  they  can  be  read  by  every  one ;  nothing,  on  the  othei 
hand,  can  be  more  obscure  and  strange  to  the  uninitiated, 
than  a  legislation  founded  upon  precedents.  The  absolute 
need  of  legal  aid  which  is  felt  in  England  and  the  United 
States,  and  the  high  opinion  which  is  entertained  of  the 
ability  of  the  legal  profession,  tend  to  separate  it  more 
and  more  from  the  people,  and  to  erect  it  into  a  distinct 
class.  The  French  lawyer  is  simply  a  man  extensively 
acquainted  with  the  statutes  of  his  country ;  but  the  Eng- 
lish or  American  lawyer  resembles  the  hierophants  of 
Egypt,  for,  like  them,  he  is  the  sole  interpreter  of  an 
occult  science. 

The  position  which  lawyers  occupy  in  England  and 
America  exercises  no  less  influence  upon  their  habits  and 
opinions.  The  English  aristocracy,  which  has  taken  care 
to  attract  to  its  sphere  whatever  is  at  all  analogous  to  itself, 
has  conferred  a  high  degree  of  importance  and  authority 
upon  the  members  of  the  legal  profession.  In  English 
society,  lawyers  do  not  occupy  the  first  rank,  but  they  are 
contented  with  the  station  assigned  to  them :  they  consti- 
tute, as  it  were,  the  younger  branch  of  the  Enghsh  aris- 
tocracy; and  they  are  attached  to  their  elder  brothers, 
although  they  do  not  enjoy  all  their  privileges.  The  Eng- 
lish lawyers  consequently  mingle  the  aristocratic  tastes  and 
ideas  of  the  circles  in  which  they  move,  with  the  aristo- 
cratic interests  of  their  profession. 

And,  indeed,  the  lawyer-like  character  which  I  am  en- 
deavoring to  depict  is  most  distinctly  to  be  met  with  in 
England :  there,  laws  are  esteemed  not  so  much  because 
they  are  good  as  because  they  are  old ;  and  if  it  be  neces- 
sary to  modify  them  in  any  respect,  to  adapt  them  to  the 
changes  which  time  operates  in  society,  recourse  is  had  to 
the  most  inconceivable  subtilties  in  order  to  uphold  the 
traditionary  fabric,  and  to  maintain  that  nothing  has  been 
done  which  does  not  square  with  the  intentions,  and  com- 


JHTIGATIONS   OF   THE   TYRamvv  /^r,   ^ 

iHt   TYRANNY  OF   THE  MAJORITY.     355 

plead  guiUy  to  so  great  a  crime      T  "    "•  ?!   ™''  *"" 
more  especially  to  tlm  Fn  i-  i.  >  '  'P'"'  W-'tains 

feren.  t^  the  C^  ^n.^oVXlCrrVr" 
Arectall  their  attention  t^  the  ktl  '  '"''  '^"^ 

to  abandon  reason  a,„I  1,     "'\'*"'''  — ^"eming  inclined 

one  titUefromT  ht  r,"'?'',  ™""  **»  ">  ™«"- 
par^d  to  the  sto  k  o  "n  oM?  '^"'"'""  ""y  "«  <""»- 
ingmfted  the  most  d"srlV'^'''T"  which  lawyers  have 
although  their  fr„t  ZrlrZ^'n-  '""  "T  """' 

tt:tr^  -th  the^e:^ifXSThi:':;;:i" 

to  gain  byinnovatilTuch  ^j^'r  *"^'°""  "•"•""S 

to  their  natural  tasteVor  pubUc  ot^er";?'""  '"'r] 
where  I  place  tliP  A»v,.  •  •  "^^  ^  ^^^^'®  asked 

without  hXtiot.lt:  tTnoTr^^^' J  ''""'''  '"p'y 

"nited  by  no  con,;or,i     but  t  at  TtT         ™,''  "''"  "" 
bench  and  the  bar.  ""'"P"='  "'«  J"'"™! 

a  body,  fo™  thetost";^,S';f :  ;^-  ^V""'^-'  ^ 
poise  to  the  democnxtic  element  In  ^t^^  ^'  """'"- 
easHy  perceive  how  the  uJ^r^r^f    •       *      '"""'^'^'  ™ 

attributes,  and  even  bv  ,^f  f'^u         "  "  ^""'"'^  ''>'''« 
™  "y  "*  '^"its-  to  neutralize  the  vices 

Common  W,  L  ox„nl°^^^^^  '■^"'^  >■-""  »  •»»  E„gU,b 


85t) 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


ill 


inherent  in  popular  government.  When  the  American 
people  are  intoxicated  by  passion,  or  carried  away  by  the 
impetuosity  of  their  ideas,  they  are  checked  and  stopped 
by  the  almost  invisible  influence  of  their  legal  counsellors. 
These  secretly  oppose  their  aristocratic  propensities  to  the 
nation's  democratic  instincts,  their  superstitious  attachment 
to  what  is  old  to  its  love  of  novelty,  their  narrow  views  to 
its  immense  designs,  and  their  habitual  procrastination  to 
its  ardent  impatience. 

The  courts  of  justice  are  the  visible  organs  by  which  the 
legal  profession  is  enabled  to  control  the  democracy.     The 
judge  is  a  lawyer,  who,  independently  of  the  taste  for  reg- 
ularity and  order  which  he  has  contracted  in  the  study  of 
law,  derives  an  additional  love  of  stability  from  the  inalien- 
ability of  his  own  functions.     His  legal  attainments  have 
already  raised  him  to  a  distinguished  rank  amongst  liis  fel- 
lows ;  his  political  power  completes  the  distinction  of  his 
station,  and  gives  him  the  instincts  of  the  privileged  classes. 
Armed  with  the  power  of  declaring  the  laws  to  be  un- 
constitutional,* the  American  magistrate  perpetually  inter- 
feres in  political  affairs.     He  cannot  force  the  people  to 
make  laws,  but  at  least  he  can  oblige  them  not  to  disobey 
their  own   enactments,  and  not   to  be  inconsistent  with 
themselves.     I  am  aware  that  a  secret  tendency  to  dimin- 
ish the  judicial  power  exists  in  the  United  States ;  and  by 
most  of  the  Constitutions  of  the  several  States,  the  gov- 
ernment can,  upon  the  demand  of  the  two  houses  of  the 
legislature,  remove  the  judges  from  their  station.     Some 
other  State  Constitutions  make  the  members  of  the  judi- 
ciary elective,  and   they  are  even   subjected  to   frequent 
re-elections.     I  venture  to  predict  that  these  innovations 
will  sooner  or  later  be  attended  with  fatal  consequences ; 
and  that  it  will  be  found  out  at  some  future  period,  that,  by 
thus  lessening  the  independence  of  the  judiciary,  they  have 

•  See  Chapter  VI.  p.  125,  on  the  Judicial  Power  in  the  United  Stntes. 


MITIGATIONS   OF  THE   TYPamw   «^ 

lOb  TYRANNY  OF   THE  MAJORITY.     357 

« Ire!,:-:'  rs  srr  ^  "-^  '««^ '"-' 

it  extends  &r  be;  nj^hem  ZW  """''''  "' J*"""" ' 
enlightened  el  J  CL™  The  ^ol"  d?^?  '■".'™  "'«  ""'^ 
are  naturally  call«l  ZJl  ^^  °  ""'  ""'rast,  they 
stations.     tL  fill  the  1,     ,  T""^  ""'  "^  "■«  P""'^ 

a  powerful  influen"  iri'  f    ^  T^'^"^"^  "^rcise 
upon  its  execution      Z^  f"  "''  *"  ^^'''  ""<• 

yieM  to...eeu:::to^*;^ri:^r:t;:r:.:\r!f  - 

for  them  to  resist ;  but  it  is  easv  to  f\nA     T  ^'"''"S 

they  would  do,  if  they  we  e  Ze  to  act      ^TT  '' "'^^ 
who  have  made  so  mon    •  •  ^^^  Americans, 

We  introdueS  verp^ZX";  '"  ""^"i  "'""'^'^  '-'' 
and  that  with  orelt  d.^  U    "'  l""'™^  '"  "'O"-  ei"!  laws, 

are  .pugnant  ^t i'  *™^'„:^l°:f  "'"^  "^  '-- l^"' 
is,  that,  in  matters  of  civil  law  tt  1  v  '"'""'"  °*^ "''' 
defer  to  the  authority  of  2  tj^T ''"  "''"'^f  *» 
American  lawyers  are  disinc  Lh  .  P™'"^'™'  ^^  "'e 
are  left  to  thir  owTchre  '""''™''  "''^"  *'«'y 

It  is  curious  for  a  Frenphmnn   ♦«  i,        .1 
which  are  made  in  the  uZd  W  ""f  """"P'"'"'' 

;.n.n^.men,a„dXS;rtro^t=I 

arises  in  the  E  st.  wS'fslVrtl  "'d'"^^'"" 
or  later,  into  a  judicial  question  Hen  e1^^^  it-"""" 
obliged  to  borrow  In  *h2-     j  -i        ""^"^e  aJl  parties  are 

intrXee  the  custoran''d  itTJS  ^fl!:!:;::^: 
■nto  the  n,an=^ement  of  public  affairs.     The  ju^"^*:!: 


Ill 


lk¥ 


368 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


this  habitude  to  all  classes.  The  language  of  the  law  thus 
becomes,  in  some  measure,  a  vulgar  tongue  ;  the  spirit  of 
the  law,  which  is  produced  in  the  schools  and  courts  of 
justice,  gradually  penetrates  beyond  their  walls  into  the 
bosom  of  society,  where  it  descends  to  the  lowest  classes, 
so  that  at  last  the  whole  people  contract  the  habits  and 
the  tastes  of  the  judicial  magistrate.  The  lawyers  of  the 
United  States  form  a  party  which  is  but  little  feared  and 
scarcely  perceived,  which  has  no  badge  peculiar  to  itself, 
which  adapts  itself  with  great  flexibility  to  the  exigencies 
of  the  time,  and  accommodates  itself  without  resistance  to 
all  the  movements  of  the  social  body.  But  this  party 
extends  over  the  whole  community,  and  penetrates  into 
all  the  classes  which  compose  it ;  it  acts  upon  the  coun- 
try imperceptibly,  but  finally  fashions  it  to  suit  its  own 
purposes. 


m 


IM 


TRIAL   BY   JURY   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES    CONSIDERED   AS   A 
POLITICAL   INSTITUTION. 

Trial  by  Jury,  which  is  one  of  the  Forms  of  the  Sovereignty  of  the  People, 
ought  to  be  compared  with  the  other  Laws  which  establish  that  Sov- 
ereignty. —  Composition  of  the  Jury  in  the  United  States.  —  Effect  of 
Trial  by  Jury  upon  the  National  Character.  —  It  educates  the  People. 
—  How  it  tends  to  establish  the  Influence  of  the  Magistrates,  and  to 
extend  the  Legal  Spirit  among  the  People. 

Since  my  subject  has  led  me  to  speak  of  the  administra- 
tion of  justice  in  the  United  States,  I  will  not  pass  over  it 
without  adverting  to  the  institution  of  the  jury.  Trial  by 
jury  may  be  considered  in  two  separate  points  of  view ;  as 
a  judicial,  and  as  a  political  institution.  If  it  was  my  pur- 
pose to  inquire  how  far  trial  by  jury,  especially  in  civil 
cases,  insures  a  good  administration  of  justice,  I  admit  that 
its  utility  might  be  contested.  As  the  jury  was  first  estab- 
lished when  society  was  in  its  infancy,  and  when  courts  of 


«.TI«AT,ONS  OF  THE  lYIANNV  OF  THE  MAJOmiT.  «f,9 

subject      Of  f..;oi  u     •  *^^'  ™^  from  my 

tions  of  the  earth  •  «nr1  ih  '     ?!    ?  enhghtened  na- 

monarchical    constitution ;    many   o7  I      ^^^"^^"^^   its 

founded   powerful  rennW'         u^  °^'P""S    ^^^^ 

u   powerrui  repubhcs;    but  everywhere  tl.PTr  i, 

boasted  of ,  the  priyilege  of  trial  by  WyT   t    ^  u'"' 
established  it,  or  hastened  to  re-esTabl"sh^\t         1,  \''' 

settlements.     A  judicial  instiL  i,    f .  '  "'  ^^  ^^'^^ 

^  juaicial  mstitution  which  thus  obtains  the 

♦  The  consideration  of  trial  hv  ?i,r„  „        •   ,.  .  . 
appreciation  of  Its  effects  in  luil.  ^  '  '      '"'  "'''"'^"'  ^"^  ^'^^ 
into  the  manner  in  whlh  the  1      ^"'*^'^,^^^**'^'  ^^^^^^^  with  an  inquir, 

a  book,  and  a  bolnp  e^  n^ran';:  "^  ''  T'  ^"^^  ^  ^«- 

Louisiana  would  throw  th«  ZT  r  .  ""*""'  '"^J'^*'     ^he  State  of 

populaUon  of  Pr:'::.;  7lT  t'Z  '''  '^'^''''  ^''^^  ™^"^'«^ 
the  two  nations,  aro  there  ffund  1  b^Le^anTr^  1  '7  "  "^"  " 
with  each  other.     The  ma.t  ,.«„f  ,  ^  V     '  "*  gradually  combining 

his  co™™;„,.riS  Z  h»  crr«    ,  °[  *"'  ""'"^  ^'"»»'  "««^. '» 


1' 

1    (I 


I  'I 

i  >l 


-  ii 


360 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


suflfrages  of  a  great  people  for  so  long  a  series  of  ages,  which 
is  zealously  reproduced  at  every  stage  of  civilization,  in  all 
the  climates  of  the  earth,  and  under  every  form  of  human 
government,  cannot  be  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  justice.* 

But  to  leave  this  part  of  the  subject.  It  would  be  a 
very  nan-ow  view  to  look  upon  the  jury  as  a  mere  judicial 
institution ;  for,  however  great  its  influence  may  be  upon 
the  decisions  of  the  courts,  it  is  still  greater  on  the  desti- 

•  If  it  were  our  province  to  point  out  the  utility  of  the  jury  as  a  judicial 
institution,  many  argumenta  might  be  brought  forward,  and  amongst  othcw 
the  following:  — 

In  proportion  as  you  introduce  the  jury  into  the  business  of  the  conrto, 
you  are  en  ibled  to  diminish  the  number  of  judges ;  which  is  a  great  advan- 
tage.    When  judges  are  very  numerous,  death  is  perpetually  thinning  the 
ranks  of  the  judicial  functionaries,  and  leaving  places  vacant  for  new-comers. 
The  ambition  of  the  magistrates  is  therefore  continually  excited,  and  they 
ire  naturally  made  dependent  upon  the  majority,  or  the  person  who  fills  up 
the  vacant  appointments :  the  officers  of  the  courts  then  rise  like  the  officers 
of  an  army.     This  state  of  things  is  entirely  contrary  to  the  sound  admin- 
istration of  justice,  and  to  the  intentions  of  the  legislator.     The  office  of 
a  judge  is  made  inalienable  in  order  that  he  may  remain  independent;  but 
of  what  advantage  is  it  that  his  independence  should  be  protected,  if  he  be 
tempted  to  sacrifice  it  of  his  own  accord  ?     When  judges  are  very  numer- 
ous, many  of  them  must  necessarily  be  incapable ;  for  a  great  magistrate 
is  a  man  of  no  common  powers ;  I  know  not  if  a  half-enlightened  tribunal 
is  not  the  worst  of  all  combinations  for  attaining  those  objects  which  it  is 
the  purpose  of  courts  of  justice  to  accomplish.     For  my  own  part,  I  had 
ratlier  submit  the  decision  of  a  case  to  ignorant  jurors  directed  by  a  skilful 
judge,  than  to  judges  a  majority  of  whom  are  Imperfectly  acquainted  with 
jurisprudence  and  with  the  laws. 

[I  venture  to  remind  the  reader,  lest  this  note  she.  1  appear  somewhat 
redundant  to  an  English  eye,  that  the  jury  is  an  institution  which  haa  only 
been  naturalized  in  France  within  the  present  century;  that  it  is  even  now 
exclusively  applied  to  those  criminal  causes  which  come  before  the  Courts 
of  Assize,  or  to  the  prosecutions  of  the  public  press ;  and  that  the  judges 
and  counsellors  of  the  numerous  local  tribunals  of  France  —  forming  a 
body  of  many  thousand  judicial  fanctionaries  —  try  aU  civil  causes,  appeals 
from  criminal  causes,  and  minor  oflTences,  without  the  jury.—Englialt 
Translator's  Note.] 


MILQATIONS  OF  THE  TYKANNY  OF  THE  MA.OB.TY.  861 

ot  nght     A  government  which  should  be  able  to  reach 

stroyed.     The  true  sanction  of  political  laws  is  tn  ),„  f!    j 
jn  penal  legislation  ;  and  if  thaf  sanction  be  wlfn!  the 
law  will  sooner  or  later  lose  its  cocencv      H„     i 
^^the  criminal  is  the^fore  the  "^TL  "%Ttrr 

at  leas    a  class  of  citizons,  to  the  bench  of  judges      Th,. 

It  r"  .    •  *"'  ■'■"'^  -nsequently  invests  the  people  o 
that  class  of  cfzens,  with  the  direction  of  societyr^^   ' 

In  England,  the  jury  is  returned  from  the  aristoon,h-. 
portion  of  the  nation;!  the  aristocracy  m^esThe^I^r 

ngh.  of  trying  oftoces  b,  hi.  «^en^™  "    Tl  „fT""'  '"  "" 
t  I.  F^cc.  «,e  ,„.,i„e„io„  o,  .be  ju.„  i,  .Ke  .^e H  eUo.0^ 


I  'S 


862 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


applies  the  laws,  and  punishes   infractions   of  t\w  laws 
everything  is  established  upon   a  consistent  footing,  and 
England  may  with  truth  be  said  to  constitute  an  aristo- 
cratic republic.     In  the  United  States,  the  same  system  is 
applied  to  the  whole  people.     Every  American  citizen  is 
qualified  to  be  an  elector,  a  juror,  and  is  eligible  to  office.* 
The  system  of  the  jury,  as  it  is  understood  in  America, 
appears  to  me  to  be  as  direct  and  as  extreme  a  consequence 
of  the   sovereignty  of  the  people   as   universal   suffrage. 
They  are  two  instruments  of  equal  power,  which  contrib- 
ute to  the  supremacy  of  the  majority.     All  the  sovereigns 
who  have  chosen  to  govern  by  their  own  authority,  and  to 
direct  society  instead  of  obeying  its  directions,  have  de- 
stroyed  or   enfeebled   the   institution   of  the  jury.      The 
Tudor   monarchs   sent   to   prison  jurors   who   refused   to 
convict,  and  Napoleon  caused  them  to  be  selected  by  his 
agents. 

However  clear  most  of  these  truths  may  seem  to  be, 
they  do  not  command  universal  assent ;  and,  in  France  at 
least,  the  trial  by  jury  is  still  but  imperfectly  understood. 
If  the  question  arises  as  to  the  proper  qualification  of  jurors, 
it  is  confined  to  a  discussion  of  the  intelligence  and  knowl- 
edge of  the  citizens  who  may  be  returned,  as  if  the  jury 
was  merely  a  judicial  institution.     This  appears  to  me  the 

qualification,  namely,  the  payment  of  200  francs  per  annum  in  direct  taxes : 
they  are  chosen  by  lot.  In  England,  they  are  returned  by  the  sheriff;  the 
qualifications  of  jurors  were  raised  to  £10  per  annum  in  England,  and  £6 
in  Wales,  of  freehold  lands  or  copyhold,  by  the  statute  W.  and  M.,  c.  24 ; 
leaseholders  for  a  time  determinable  upon  life  or  lives,  of  the  clear  yearly 
value  of  £20  per  annum  over  and  above  the  rent  reserved,  are  qualified  to 
serve  on  juries ;  and  jurors  in  the  courts  of  Westminster  and  City  of  London 
must  be  householders,  and  possessed  of  real  and  personal  estate  of  the  valuo 
of  £100.  The  qualifications,  however,  prescribed  in  different  statutes  vary 
according  to  the  object  for  which  the  jury  is  impanelled.  See  Blackstone'i 
Commentaries,  Book  III.  c.  23.  —  Erujltsh  Translator's  Note. 
*  See  Appendix  Q. 


MITIGATIONS  OF  THE  TYBATO'   OF  THE  MAJOHITY.     363 

least  important  part  of  the  subject     Tl,o  ;,.„    • 

nenti,  a  poiit  J  institution  .  i^2„M'^^3%C^red''rre 
form  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people:  whefthat  To^r 
«gnty  ,s  repudiated,  it  must  be  4cted    or  hi  7T 
adapted  to  the  laws  by  which  thJ  !         •  •  ^ 

lished      Ti,^  •       •     ,  *'  sovereignty  is  estab- 

isW.    The  jury  ,s  that  portion  of  the  nation  to  which 

f  prrr  :.•.'"=■;:  !'*£' 

mcrease  a„d  d,m  nish  with  the  Ust  of  electors.     TiTlZl 

leJ^a*:."!:,!™"  ""^^  ^"^*^ "'  ""^  ""»''<>:  of^" 

le^siator,  all  that  remains  is  merely  accessory. 

J  am  so  entirely  convinced  that  the  juiy  is  pren-minentlv 
a  political  ,nr  itution,  that  I  stiU  considi  it'in  tw3 

vhen  It  ,s  applied  in  civU  causes.     Laws  are  always  unst 
ble  unless  they  are  founded  upon  the  manners  of  Tnatir: 

ple.     Wlien  the  jury  ,s  reserved  for  criminal  offences  the 
people  only  witness  its  occasional  action  in  particular  els- 

not  »!^I         ,  "  """'''''^■^  '^  ""  instrument,  bS 

til  tZ^"  T""?"'.'  "'  """^"'"S  J-'--     This  is 
Z^JT::.-"''"  *«  ^'^  '^  "PI"''^''  o-'y  to  certain 

When,  on  the  contrary,  the  juiy  acts  also  on  civil  causes 
este  of  the  commumty ;  every  one  co-opemtes  in  its  work  • 

tm::LTndTV"""",-"'^  "''^  of  life,  it  fashions  he 
human  mind  to  its  peculiar  forms,  and  is  gradually  associ- 
ated with  the  idea  of  justice  itself.  ^ 

caiises,  IS  always  m  danger;  but  when  once  it  is  intro- 
duced into  civil  proceedings,  it  defies  the  aggressions  of 
t.me  and  man.     If  it  had  been  as  easy  to  remtve  Uie    „^ 


■If 


364 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


from  the  manners  as  from  the  laws  of  England,  it  would 
have  perished  under  the  Tudors  ;  and  the  civil  jury  did  in 
reality,  at  that  period,  save  the  liberties  of  England.     In 
whatever  manner  the  jury  be  applied,  it  cannot  fail  to  exer- 
cise  a  powerfiil  influence  upon  the  national  character ;  but 
this  influence  is  prodigiously  increased  when  it  is  intro- 
duced into  civil  causes.     The  jury,  and  more  especially  the 
civil  jury,  serves  to  communicate  the  spirit  of  the  judges  to 
the  minds  of  all  the  citizens;  and  this  spirit,  with  the* hab- 
its which  attend  it,  is  the  soundest  preparation  for  free 
institutions.     It  imbues  all  classes  with  a  respect  for  the 
thing  judged,  and  with  the  notion  of  right.     If  these  two 
elements  be  removed,  the  love  of  independence  becomes 
a  mere  destructive  passion.     It  teaches  men  to  practise 
equity ;   every  man  learns   to  judge  his  neighbor  as  he 
would  himself  be  judged.     And  this  is  especially  true  of 
the  jury  in  civil  causes;  for,  whilst  the  number  of  persons 
who  have  reason  to  apprehend  a  criminal  prosecution  is 
small,  every  one  is  liable  to  have  a  lawsuit.     The  jury 
teaches  every  man  not  to  recoil  before  the  responsibility 
of  his  own  actions,  and  impresses  him  with  that  manly 
confidence  without  which  no  political  virtue  can  exiut.     It 
invests  each  citizen  with  a  kind  of  magistracy ;  it  makes 
them  all  feel  the  duties  which  they  are  bound  to  discharge 
towards  society,  and  the  part  which  they  take  in  its  gov- 
ernment.    By  obliging  men  to  turn  their  attention  to  other 
affairs  than  their  own,  it  rubs  off"  that  private  selfishness 
which  is  the  rust  of  society. 

The  jury  contributes  powerfully  to  form  the  judgment 
and  to  increase  the  natural  inteUigence  of  a  people;  and 
this,  in  my  opinion,  is  its  greatest  advaucage.  It  may  be 
regarded  as  a  gratuitous  public  school,  ever  open,  in  which 
every  juror  leams  his  rights,  enters  into  daily  communica- 
tion with  the  most  learned  and  enlightened  members  of  the 
upper  clashes,  and  becomes  practically  acquainted  with  the 


MITIOATIONS   OF  THE  TVKANNV  OP  THE  mjOMTY.     365 

by  the  passions  of  the  parties  Th,-wV?'  ^"^  ^™" 
intelligence  and  politick  d  sense  Tf  the"!  "'^'"^<='''='" 
mainly  attributable  to  the^olTeVww^^^  T 

of  the  jury  in  civil  causes.  *"'  """^  "^'^^ 

have  wL'^Zt?:*"  *r  •■'■'"?^  "  "'*'  *"  *-  -ho 
those  winXtLL       "r?1'","  ''  %%  beneficial  to 

laTatLt^iirirto-ir^  ^"^  ''-" 

d^tic  co.n.n„i.es.  "T^J-^^ZZ  S:^^  t 
democracies,  the  membpM  nf  +],«  i      ^        n     .  ♦  ^" 

the  iudcre  as  tha  T^„I  •      .  "'    -^      ^P^  *°  ^<*o^  "Pon 

to  mit^tttis  r  MolTrT-"'  T""  '"^'^^  '"' 
tirely  upon  simple  fe  ,s  \^^^chTl™'™  ''"'''  '"™  ™- 
appreciate-  „nnn  *l  •        '""'™  ,^"""0"  sense  can  readily 

then  the  judJeappJ^'a^^rH-,  "^'. '"  ""'  '^''"^^'  = 
the  confli^fng  pSr  ofehe  pX'tI  "■■"  t^"" 
.to  him  with  confidence,  and  X To"  him  wSTsptt  Z 
m  tins  mstance,  his  intellect  entirely  govern    tl2Vi 

-o^frrs-:^X1tx'St:^ 

fon  to  tl.e  exact  question  of  fact,  which  they  are  l^Z 


iF  )  i| 


4i   liU 


3t)t5 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


I 


upon  to  decide,  and  teUs  them  how  to  answer  the  question 
of  law.     His  influence  over  them  is  almost  unlimited. 

If  I  am  called  upon  to  explain  why  I  am  but  little 
moved  by  the  arguments  derived  from  the  ignorance  of 
jurors  in  civil  causes,  I  reply,  that  in  these  proceedings, 
whenever  the  question  to  be  solved  is  not  a  mere  ques- 
tion of  fact,  the  jury  has  only  the  semblance  of  a  judi- 
cial body.  The  jury  only  sanctions  the  decision  of  the 
judge  ;  they  sanction  this  decision  by  the  authority  of 
society  which  they  represent,  and  he,  by  that  of  reason 
and  of  law.* 

In  England  and  in  America,  the  judges  exercise  an  in- 
fluence upon  criminal  trials  which  the  French  judges  have 
never  possessed.     The  reason  of  this  difference  may  easily 
be  discovered ;  the  English  and  American  magistrates  have 
established  their  authority  in  civil  causes,  and  only  transfer 
It  afterwards  to  tribunals  of  another  kind,  where  it  was  not 
first  acquired.     In  some  cases,  and  they  are  frequently  the 
most  important  ones,  the  American  judges  have  the  right 
of  deciding  causes  alone.f     Upon  these  occasions,  they  are 
accidentally  placed    in    the   position   which   the   French 
judges  habitually  occupy:  but  their  moral  power  is  much 
gi-eater;  they  are  still  surrounded  by  the  recollection  of 
the  jury,  and  their  judgment  has  almost  as  much  authority 
as  the  voice  of  the  community  represented  by  that  institu- 
tion.    Their  influence  extends  far  beyond  th«  limits  of  the 
courts;  in  the  recreations  of  private  life,  as  well  as  in  the 
turmoil  of  public  business,  in  public  and  in  the  legislative 
assemblies,  the  American  judge  is  constantly  surrounded 
by  men  who  are  accustomed  to  regard  his  intelhgence  as 
superior   to   their  own;    and   after  having  exercised   his 
power  in  the  decision  of  causes,  he  continues  to  influence 
*  Sec  Appendix  R. 

t  The  Federal  judges  act  alone  upon  alir  ost  aU  the  qnefltiona  most  impor 
tant  to  the  government  of  the  countiy. 


"BATONS  or  THE  TVBAmV  OF  THE  MAWB.TY.     36T 

jury  in  civil  c^„o?l/i    a''''''"'''"^  "^^  "^^^  "f  *« 
eve^  the  wTc ^e  "o/ttr/S  tT^"'^"^  '"""'^ 


9 


!■:  ■     I 


ill 


36U 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA- 


:/»! 


<; 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

PRINCIPAL    CAUSES   WHICH    TEND    TO    MAINTAIN    THE    DEM(V 
CRATIC  REPUBLIC  IN  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

A  DEMOCRATIC  republic  exists  in  the  United 
XX  States ;  and  the  principal  object  of  this  book  has 
been  to  explain  the  causes  of  its  existence.  Several  of 
these  causes  have  been  involuntarily  passed  by,  or  only 
hinted  at,  as  I  was  borne  along  by  my  subject.  Others  I 
have  been  unable  to  discuss  at  all;  and  those  on  which  1 
have  dwelt  most  are,  as  it  were,  buried  in  the  details  of 
this  work. 

I  think,  therefore,  that,  before  I  proceed  to  speak  of 
the  future,  I  ought  to  collect  within  a  small  compass  the 
reasons  which  explain  the  present.  In  this  retrospective 
chapter  I  shall  be  brief;  for  I  shall  take  care  to  remind  the 
reader  only  very  summarily  of  what  he  already  knows, 
and  shall  select  only  the  most  prominent  of  those  facts 
which  I  have  not  yet  pointed  out. 

All  the  causes  which  contribute  to  th^  m^mfpnanno  of 
the  cremocratic  rejJublicJnlM^I^ 
to  three  heads :  — 

J^  The  pecuUar  and  accidental  situation  in  which  Prov- 
idence has  placed  the  Americans. 
II.   The  laws. 
JII.   The  manners  and  customs  of  the  people. 


liei 


CAUSES  WHICH  TEKD  TO  MAKTAm  DEMOOiUOr. 


3ti9 


STATES.  ^«AHC  REPUBLIC  IN  THE  UNITED 

The  Union  has  no  Neichbora  _  v«  m  *.      ,. 

.he  Chance  of  B,,^  fa  fl-fj.tlr'"'!"-  ~^'"  ^""™  '""  ""^ 

mSc  Republic  fa  America  -nZ^  f  ^       """'^  ""  "'"lo- 
Avidi.,  of  rt.  A„g,„.2^,.  "°"  *!  .^™"-»  Wild.  „e  peopled.  - 

of  .he  New  World!  -  MuZof  pf""^  ,'^""'''*°  "'  "■«  S»»"to 
C.J  Opidooe  of  Ae  Americir  ""  """'"'^  "'»°  *«  P*' 

tl.e  United  Statl     W  T!.     '  '''""'"™''<=  '^P-t-''^  "' 

-y  easily  ^TmtedTut  "b    TlSl      T  "'^  "*^- 
the  principal  ones  ^  "™'^"''  "y^'i''  '» 

quest,  to  dread ;  they  re,„ire  neithrgC  Z^^':: ,'""' 
arm.es,  nor  great  generals,  and  they  We  nottL;  oT^'^ 
from  a  scourge  which  is  mnw.  e      ■ ,  ,7      """""g  to  fear 

■^  these  evilf  con-hted,  riel^S;  gloT tV'^" 

son,^wh  riTlri!  'P"^'  "^  "  "'"'■™-     e--".!  Jack- 
head  of  their  gov~r  '""'  ^'^'="'''  *"  ^  *e 

vcy  moder2T„"rnolwTifs'f  r  """"'^  ^"" 
proved  Inm  qualified    o  2em  ^  fr    whole  career  ever 

deed,  the  maioritv  of  Z      rT       ,    "  P'^'P'"' '  »"<'  '""- 
)    "o  majority  ot  the  enhghtened  clas<ip<i  nf  ^^a  tt  • 

has  always  opposed  Mm      n  *  i  '™  'J"'"" 


iiN 


i;:      I  'i 


370 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


.    ii 


«^^^^ 


Now  the  people  who  are  thus  carried  away  by  the  ilhisiona 
of  glory  are  unquestionably  the  most  cold  and  calculating, 
the  most  unmilitary,  if  I  may  so  speak,  and  the  most  pro- 
saic, of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

America  has  no  great  capital*  city,  whose  direct  or 
indirect  influence  is  felt  over  the  whole  extent  of  the  coun- 
try ;  this  I  hold  to  be  one  of  the  first  causes  of  the  main- 
tenance of  republican  institutions  in  the  United  States. 
In  cities,  men  cannot  be  prevented  from  concerting  to- 
gether, and  awakening  a  mutual  excitement  which  prompts 
sudden  and  passionate  resolutions.  Cities  may  be  looked 
upon  as  large  assemblies,  of  which  all  the  inhabitants  are 
members;  their  populace  exercise  a  prodigious  influence 
upon  the  magistrates,  and  frequently  execute  their  own 
wishes  without  the  intervention  of  public  officers. 

*  The  United  States  have  no  metropolis ;  but  they  already  contain  sev- 
eral  very  large  cities.  Philadelphia  reckoned  161,000  inhabitants,  and  New 
York  202,000,  in  the  year  1830.  The  lower  orders  which  inhabit  these 
cities  constitute  a  rabble  even  more  formidable  than  the  populace  of  Euro- 
pean towns.  Tliey  consist  of  freed  blacks,  in  the  first  place,  who  are  con- 
demned by  the  laws  and  by  public  opinion  to  an  hereditary  state  of  misery 
and  degradation.  They  also  contain  a  multitude  of  Europeans,  who  have 
been  driven  to  the  shores  of  the  New  World  by  their  misfortunes  or  their 
misconduct ;  and  these  men  inoculate  the  United  States  with  all  our  vices, 
without  bringing  with  them  any  of  those  interests  which  counteract  their 
baneful  influence.  As  inhabitants  of  a  country  where  they  have  no  civil 
rights,  they  are  ready  to  turn  all  the  passions  which  agitate  the  community 
to  their  own  advantage;  thus,  within  the  last  few  months,  serious  riots  have 
broken  out  in  Piuladelphia  and  in  New  York.  Disturbances  of  this  kind 
are  unknown  in  the  rest  of  the  country,  which  is  nowise  alarmed  by  them, 
because  the  population  of  the  cities  has  hitherto  exercised  neither  power  nor 
influence  over  the  rural  districts. 

Nevertheless,  I  look  upon  the  size  of  certain  American  cities,  and  especially 
on  the  nature  of  their  population,  as  a  real  danger  which  threatens  the  future 
security  of  the  democratic  republics  of  the  New  WorM  ;  and  I  venture  to 
predict  that  they  will  perish  from  this  circumstance,  unless  the  government 
succeeds  in  creating  an  armed  force,  which,  while  it  remains  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  majority  of  the  nation,  will  be  independent  of  the  town-popula- 
tion, and  able  to  repress  its  excesses 


CALSKS  WmcH  m»  TO  MAmTAm  DE„OC«AOr.       371 

of  rp„„io„  JZ^I^Z";  .">«  '.ands   not  on,,' 
hands  of  a  populace  oZv     ^'  "  ""•""''•  "'"t  '"  "'.; 

i3  ve.y  dang^'ns  T,: "C^  ""i  "^  »-•  ™P»l»es,  «l,ieh 
therefore  a  seWous  h,„rv  ?"?,''"'"''"  °^  <="''"'''  ^'^ies  ia 
and  it  exposes  ml   "11  t  T'^'^f^  '^^'^""^ 

cem  two  principal  onerilfr?^'  circumstances  I  dis- 

<-e  alreal,  o£leT:Lt:^i^:rt,r  f'" '  ""•  ^ 
what  I  liave  called  their  n„i„t    ff  Americans,  or 

upon  as  the  first  and  moT  11  '""''""'  "^^  ""  '""'^^'l 
present  prosperity' of  tril  f,."""  """'"  '^  ^^ich  the 
The  Ameri  amVd  ri       ^  ""^  ^  """''"««'• 

and  their^f  t,:^  i;:'r;if  '"V"  'r  ^^-^ 

and  of  inteUect  into  Z  ^""'"^  o*^  condition 

republic  has  very  natur!,,™';?^  "''""^  *«  <'«"""='^'- 
aU;  for  beside    d,rrrrr"  "'  "^^-    ^"^  ^  this 

ear.,  settle,  h;:;^:,^"^-  ^L^^th"^'^'^'  '"^ 
manners,  and  onminnc     7  •  i.        "ascendants  the  customs, 

cess  of  aVeir^h^t  — ;:  T  "  '''  ™^' 
of  tliis  primary  fact  moH,;  i    t         V"^       ''°  consequences 

embodied  in  The  fi m  P   "      ^  T  ,"'^''""■"^  "'"  ^-"--a 

just  as  the  whole  hum™  "      '™''=''  ™  '""^  ^''»-- 
human  race  was  represented  by  the  fii^t 

.u^ityandofted^,— S-:^^^^^^^^^ 


a72 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


I'" I*  ii 

m 


means  of  remaining  equal  and  free,  by  placing  them  upon 
a  boundless  continent.  General  prosperity  is  favorable  to 
the  stability  of  all  governments,  bat  more  particularly  of 
a  democratic  one,  which  depends  upon  the  will  of  the 
majority,  and  especially  upon  the  will  of  that  portion  of 
the  community  which  is  most  exposed  to  want.  When 
the  people  rule,  they  must  be  rendered  happy,  or  they  will 
overturn  the  state:  and  misery  stimulates  them  to  those 
excesses  to  whicli  ambition  rouses  kings.  The  physical 
causes,  independent  of  the  laws,  which  promote  general 
prosperity,  are  more  numerous  in  America  than  they  ever 
have  been  in  any  other  country  in  the  world,  at  any  other 
period  of  history.  In  the  United  States,  not  only  is  legis- 
lation democratic,  but  Nature  herself  favors  the  cause  of 
the  people. 

In  what  part  of  human  history  can  be  found  anything 
similar  to  what  is  passing  before  our  eyes  in  North  Amer- 
ica? The  celebrated  communities  of  antiquity  were  all 
founded  in  the  midst  of  hostile  nations,  which  they  were 
obhged  to  subjugate,  before  they  could  flourish  in  their 
place.  Even  the  moderns  have  found,  in  some  parts  of 
South  America,  vast  regions  inhabited  by  a  people  of  infe- 
rior civilization,  but  who  had  already  occupied  and  culti- 
vated the  soil.  To  found  their  new  states,  it  was  necessary 
to  extirpate  or  subdue  a  numerous  population,  and  they 
made  civilization  blush  for  its  own  success.  But  North 
America  was  inhabited  only  by  wandering  tribes,  who  had 
no  thought  of  profiting  by  the  natural  riches  of  the  soil ; 
that  vast  country  was  still,  properly  speaking,  an  empty 
continent,  a  desert  land  awaiting  its  inhabitants. 

Everything  is  extraordinary  in  America,  the  social  con- 
dition of  the  inhabitants,  as  well  as  the  laws ;  but  the  soil 
upon  which  these  institutions  are  founded  is  more  extraor- 
dinary than  all  the  rest.  When  the  earth  was  given  to 
men  by  the  Creator,  the  earth  was  inexhaustible ;  but  men 


OAtlSKS  WmcU  TEND  TO  MAIOTAIN  DEMOCRACr.       S78 

water,  o/irebl;  '""  """  '™"'  '^"-*  "- 

That  continent  still  nresenf«!   n=  ,-f  ,]-j  •      ^ 
time,  rivers  wh,V.},        P^'^^^s,  as  it  did  m  the  primeval 

share  of  the  h„s,a„d™a„  has  never  .„„:ed     I  '  „f '  ^t 
as        was  in  the  early  ages,  but  ah-eady  in  possession  „f 

At;.ns.ery.i„::lritr;X^^ 

themselves  accurately  acquatted      tI       *''T '^\"'"  ^'' 
soldiers  drive  before  tlllT  7  ''^  '"'  ^°"  ""'"^''"<' 

rigines.  these  atf^rd  t ^r^ZL^'X  "'■'''' ^ 
woods,  scare  off  the  bea-t,  Z  '^  ^  '  °  ^'""'^  *« 
the  inland  streamt  and  Ike  Zlt7  ""Tr'  "' 
of  civilization  across  the  desert  '"'  ""''■'='' 

upon  the  ins.it:ro„:    *:h"  trr?;^^  "^  ^-r 
already  been  given  by  man/'oth:  s  SbJ^:  '^Tis  ]f 

Sirtr'Etoji!  'ffv'  -^r^^^ 

erally  entertained,  It  ttdesttsoTrr-""'™  "'  ^T' 


ni 


»t 


1    I  'l 


?iF 


fu 


374 


DEMOCRACY    IN  AMKRICA. 


increase  and  multiply  upon  the  soil  vvliich  their  forefathers 
tilled.     The  European  settler  usually  arrives  in  the  United 
States  without  friends,  and   often   without   resources;   in 
order  to  subsist,  he  is  obligetl  to  work  for  hire,  and  he 
rarely  jjroceeds  beyond  tliat  belt  of  industrious  population 
which  adjoins  tlie  ocean.     The  desert  cannot  be  exjjlored 
without  capital  or  credit;   and  the  body  must  be  accus- 
tomed to  the  rigors  of  a  new  climate,  before  it  can  be 
exposed  in  the  midst  of  the  forest.     It  is  the  Americans 
themselves  who  daily  quit  the  spots  which  gave  them  birth, 
to  acquire  extensive  domains  in  a  remote  region.    Thus  the 
European  leaves  his  cottage  for  the  Transatlantic  shores, 
and  the  American,  who  is  born  on  that  very  coast,  plunges 
in  his  turn  into  the  wilds  of  central  America.     This  double 
emigration  is  incessant ;  it  begins  in  the  middle  of  Europe, 
it  crosses  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  it  advances  over  the  soH- 
tudes  of  the  New  World.     Millions  of  men  are  marching 
at  once  towards  the  same  horizon  :   their  language,  their 
religion,   their  manners  differ;    their  object  is  the  same. 
Fortune  has  been    promised   to   them  somewhere  in  the 
West,  and  to  the  West  they  go  to  find  it. 

No  event  can  be  compared  with  this  continuous  removal 
of  the  human  race,  except  perhaps  those  irruptions  which 
caused  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Then,  as  well  as 
now,  crowds  of  men  were  impelled  in  the  same  direction, 
to  meet  and  struggle  on  the  same  spot ;  but  the  designs  of 
Providence  were  not  the  same.  Then,  every  new-comer 
brought  with  him  destruction  and  death ;  now,  each  one 
brings  the  elements  of  prosperity  and  life.  The  future 
still  conceals  from  us  the  remote  consequences  of  this  mi- 
gration of  the  Americans  towards  the  West ;  but  we  can 
readily  apprehend  its  immediate  results.  As  a  portion  of 
the  inhabitants  annually  leave  the  States  in  which  they 
were  born,  the  population  of  these  States  increases  very 
slowly,  although  they  have  long  been  established.     Tims, 


CAUSES   WHICH  TEND   TO  MAINTAIN  I.EMOCRAOV.       875 

-no  „„ri«l.     Tl,o  European  ™ig.,'  1  ;  ,  ^^^ 

amasse,   the  capital   which   the  latter  Tnvct,      andTr 
stinger  aa  well  as  the  native  is  unacquainted  wilh  Z't 

toTL  r-°'^'  ^""'^  ®""«^  "-  extremely  favo^ble 
to  the  division  of  property;  but  a  cause  more  powerful 

X  J  "  T,::  •■'"™""  P^P'^y  fro-  •'-g  -lilided 
excess       Ih,    ,3  very  perceptible  in  the  States  which  are 

.Iemo,t'^'"T^  '°  "^  "'-%  Wed;  Ma.;sachu!  t L 

e^hty  mhabitants  to  the  square  mile,  which  is  much  lei 
.an  m  France,  where  one  hundred  and  sixty-hvo  are 

reckoned  to  the  same  extent  of  countiy.    But  in  Mas! 

chusets,  estates  are  veiy  rarely  divided;   the  eU^l 
generally  takes  the  land,  and  the  othe«  go  to  s  ek  the 
fortune  ,„  .heir  desert.     The  law  has  abflished    he  nV 
of  pnmogeniture,  but  circumstances  have  concurred  to  t 
estabhsh  It  under  a  form  of  which  none  can  comJl  a^d 
by  which  no  .,ust  rights  are  impaired. 
A  smgle  fact  will  sufHce  to  show  the  prodicrious  number 

the  wilds.    We  were  assured  in  1830,  that  thirty-six  of  the 

nTel^r  "Lf^S-^.-  "">-  i"  «.e  httle  Sta'teTc  n- 
necticut      The  population  of  Connecticut,  which  consti- 
^^s  only  one  forty-third  part  of  that  of  the  United  sC 
thus  furnished  one  eighth  of  the  whole  body  of  repres«it: 


Mfij 


''  f 


i     ^ 


376 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AlIFBICA. 


tives.  The  State  of  Connecticut  of  itself,  however,  sends 
only  five  delegates  to  Congress  ;  and  the  thirty-one  others 
sit  for  the  new  Western  States.  If  these  thirty-one  indi- 
viduals had  remained  in  Connecticut,  it  is  probable  that, 
instead  of  becoming  rich  land-owners,  they  would  have 
remained  humble  laborers,  that  they  would  have  lived  in 
obscurity  without  being  able  to  rise  into  public  life,  and 
that,  far  from  becoming  usefid  legislators,  they  might  have 
been  unruly  citizens. 

These  reflections  do  not  escape  the  observation  of  the 
Americans  any  more  than  of  ourselves.  "  It  cannot  be 
doubted,"  say?  Chancellor  Kent,  in  his  Treatise  on  Amer- 
ican Law,  "  that  the  division  of  landed  estates  must  pro- 
duce great  evils,  when  it  is  carried  to  such  excess  as  that 
each  parcel  of  land  is  insufficient  to  support  a  family ;  but 
these  disadvantages  have  never  been  felt  in  the  United 
States,  and  many  generations  must  elapse  before  they  can 
be  felt.  The  extent  of  our  inhabited  territory,  the  abun- 
dance of  adjacent  land,  and  the  continual  stream  of  emi- 
gration flowing  from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  towards 
the  interior  of  the  country,  suffice  as  yet,  and  will  long 
suffice,  to  prevent  the  parcelUng  out  of  estates." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  describe  the  avidity  with  which 
the  American  rushes  forward  to  secure  this  immense  booty 
which  fortune  offers.  In  the  pursuit,  he  fearlessly  braves 
the  arrow  of  the  Indian  and  the  diseases  of  the  forest ;  ht 
is  unimpressed  by  the  silence  of  the  woods ;  the  approach 
of  beasts  of  prey  does  not  disturb  him ;  for  he  is  goaded 
onwards  by  a  passion  stronger  than  the  love  of  life.  Be- 
fore him  lies  a  boundless  continent,  and  he  urges  onward 
as  if  time  pressed,  and  he  was  afraid  of  finding  no  room 
for  his  exertions.  I  have  spoken  of  the  emigration  from 
the  older  States  ;  but  how  shall  I  describe  that  which  takes 
place  from  the  more  recent  ones?  Fifty  years  have 
scarcely   elapsed   since   that   of  Ohio   was   founded;   the 


CAUSES  WHICH   TEND  TO  MAINTAm  DEMOCKACY.      377 

greater  part  of  its  inhabitants  were  nnt  I..™      ■.^-     ■ 
-  nes;  its  capital  has  been  bXnt  th^  i:^'":^ 

,  tiiej  quit  tupir  second,  to  ameiioratP  it  otin 

They  early  broke  the  tie.  whifh  bound  tiem  to  th^    T, 
earth,  and  they  have  contracted  no  toh  „n"^^  t    " 
En^gration  wa,  at  first  necessaty  tl  .' "m-  and  h  If ' 

r^^^o^t^&sj  or  man  is  so  ranid  flint  tha  ^i^» 
ert  reappears  behind  him      T-i,  j       ^  ^^  ^®®" 

Passa,e^a  sp.t^'nXilwhirtri^as^Tfj 

^^Th^rstfeityr  trv  'f  7^'-  ^ 

the  t^veller  fre^nentl/'i^ :;3  ^  e^ll^  ^  Tf^' 
house  m  the  most  solitary  retreat  wuTl         •  ^" 

pHn.eval  .Ctlot'trel  Tlst^.tr^  Il^T  *; 
resume  tliP  lion«fo     i,-  i  ^«geiarion;  the  beasts 

resume  the  haunts  which  were  once  their  own  •  and  AT. 
ture  comes  smiling  to  cover  thp  f^        7  '  ^^" 

branches  and  flowers  Xt  Tf  *^^^^,  ?^  '"^^  ^^^^h  green 
I  remember  Z,-  "  ^"'  '^^'"^''^^  *^^k. 

tricts  Xh  :,f :^^^^^^  ^sTar; ;'  ^ Vr^'^-^  ^•- 

the  shores  of  a  lale  wh  .h  'f     '''  ^°'^'  ^  ^^^^^^^^ 

evalwith  thetorirt  smiirrr"''  "  '^"^^^  ^- 
whose   thick   foS   ctce^  d  ts  b^nr^'  "f  ^'^^'^ 
centre  of  the  waters      Tin       .i,      ^     ''  ""'"  ^'^"^  ^^« 
^vaters.     Upon  the  shores  of  the  lake,  no 


if; 


I  'i\ 


>  , . 


i:      ' 


378 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


object  attested  the  presence  of  man,  except  a  column  of 
smoke,  which  might  be  seen  on  the  horizon  rising  from  the 
tops  of  the  trees  to  the  clouds,  and  seeming  to  liang  from 
heaven  rather  than  to  be  mounting  to  it.    An  Indian  canoe 
was  hauled  up  on  the  sand,  which  tempted  me  to  visit  the 
islet  that  had  first  attracted  my  attention,  and  in  a  few 
minutes   I   set   foot   upon   its   banks.     The   whole   island 
formed  one  of  those  delicious  solitudes  of  the  New  World, 
which  almost  lead  civilized  man  to  regret  the  haunts  of  the 
savage.     A  luxuriant  vegetation  bore  witness  to  the  incom- 
parable fi-uitfulness  of  the  soil.     The  deep  silence,  which  is 
common  to  the  wilds  of  North  America,  was  only  broken 
by  the  monotonous  cooing  of  the  wood-pigeons,  and  the 
tapping  of  the  woodpecker  upon  the  bark  of  trees.     I  was 
far  from  supposing  that  this  spot  had  ever  been  inhabited, 
so  completely  did  Nature  seem  to  be  left  to  herself;  but 
when  I  reached  the  centre  of  the  isle,  I  thought  that  I  dis- 
covered some  traces  of  man.     I  then  proceeded  to  examine 
the  surrounding  objects  with  care,  and  I  soon  perceived 
that  a  European  had  undoubtedly  been  led  to  seek  a  refuge 
in  this  place.     Yet  what  changes  had  taken  place  in  the 
scene  of  his  labors  I     The  logs  which  he  had  hastily  hewn 
to  build  himself  a  shed  had  sprouted   afresh;    the  very 
props  were  intertwined  with  Hving  verdure,  and  his  cabin 
was   transformed  into   a   bower.     In  the  midst  of  these 
shrubs,  a  few  stones  were  to  be  seen,  blackened  with  fire 
and  sprinkled  with  thin  ashes;  here  the  hearth  had  no 
doubt  been,  and  the  chimney  in  falling  had  covered  it  with 
rubbish.     I  stood  for  some  time  in  silent  admiration  of  the 
resources  of  Nature  and  the  littleness  of  man ;  and  when 
I  was  obliged  to  leave  that  enchanting  solitude,  I  exclaimed 
with  sadness,  "  Are  ruins,  then,  already  here  ?  " 

In  Europe,  we  are  wont  to  look  upon  a  restless  disposi- 
tion, an  unbounded  desire  of  riches,  and  an  excessive  love 
of  independence,  as  propensities  very  dangerous  to  society. 


CAUSES   WHICH  TEND   TO  MAINTAIN  BEMOCEACY.       37!l 

IlfirVr  *'  ^-7  ^I-^ments  winch  insure  a  long  and 

the  Old  World  wluch  .t  is  difficult  to  satisfy;  for  such  is 

tneu-  virtues.  These  circumstances  exercise  a  great  influ 
ence  on  .he  estimation  in  which  human  actions  S  Lid  ,„ 
the  two  hemispheres.  What  we  should  call  cupidity  the 
Americans  frequently  term  a  laudable  industr^ ;  anfth ev 
blame  as  fa,nt-hearted„ess  what  we  consider  to'^Le  "hetil 
tue  of  moderate  desires. 

„«•!"•  ^™™';  ?™P'^   ^^'   "'^"'^y  "■»n«B,   domestic 
affections  and  the  attachment  which  men  feel  to  the  p  Ice 

ttu^SlittdT  '•'*^''  TT  -^  ^-'^-"iesof 
tranquillity  and  happmess  of  the  state.     But  in  Amerio, 

xfu'^'^r';  ''\'"r  "^^j"'"'^-"^  to  society  tt:;"!' 

virtues.     The  French  Canadians,  who  have  fidthfullv  pre 
served  the  traditions  of  their  ancient  manners,  ai^afreadv 
embarrassed  for  room  upon  their  small  territo -y    and  tWs 
little  community,  which  has  so  recently  begun  ^  ;4t  «' 
shortly  be  a  prey  to  the  calamities  incideft  to  oldTaUons 
il^^rf '  "'f  "■"''  ^''-ghtened,  patriotic,  and  liumape 
mhabtants  make  extraordinaiy  efforts  to  tender  tl  e  pd 

content  them.     There  the  seductions  of  wealth  are  vaunt- 
ed with  as  much  .eal  as  the  charms  of  a  moderate  compe 
toicy  in  the  Old  World;  and  more  exertions  are  mal'tt 
excite  tlie  passions  of  the  cit,V.ens  there,  than  to  calm  them 
elsewhere.     If  we  listen  *«  ♦!,„•  ^"" 

tl,»f  „„,!,•       •  ""^  accounts,  we  shall  hear 

that  nothmg  is  more  praiseworthy  than  to  exchan-^e  tte 
pure  and  ,r.™q„il  pleasures  which  Ln  the  poor  manlast 
m  his  own  country,  for  the  sterile  delights  of  prospX 
under  a  foreign  sky;  to  leave  the  patrimonial  hear^S 


Hi 


fi 


..^'t* 


1 


i      I 


380 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


the  turf  beneath  which  one's  forefathers  sleep,  —  in  short, 
to  abandon  the  living  and  the  dead,  in  quest  of  fortune. 

At  tlie  present  time,  America  presents  a  field  for  human 
eflPort  far  more  extensive  than  any  sum  of  labor  which  can 
be  applied  to  work  it.  In  America,  too  much  knowledge 
cannot  be  diffused  ;  for  all  knowledge,  whilst  it  may  serve 
him  who  possesses  it,  turns  also  to  the  advantage  of  those 
who  are  without  it.  New  wants  are  not  to  be  feared  there, 
since  they  can  be  satisfied  without  difficulty ;  the  groAvth 
of  human  passions  need  not  be  dreaded,  since  all  passions 
may  find  an  easy  and  a  legitimate  object;  nor  can  men 
there  be  made  too  free,  since  they  are  scarcely  ever  tempt- 
ed to  misuse  their  liberties. 

The  American  republics  of  the  present  day  are  like  com- 
panies of  adventurers,  formed  to  explore  in  common  the 
waste  lands  of  the  New  \\  orid,  and  busied  in  a  flourishing 
trade.     The  passions  which  agitate  the  Americans  most 
deeply  are  not  their  political,  but  their  commercial,  pas- 
sions ;  or,  rather,  they  introduce  the  habits  of  business  into 
their  pohtical  life.     They  love  order,  without  which  affairs 
do  not  prosper  ;  and  they  set  an  especial  value  upon  regu- 
lar conduct,  which  is  the  foundation  of  a  solid  business. 
They  prefer  the  good  sense  which  amasses  large  fortunes 
to    that    enterprising   genius   which    frequently   dissipates 
them ;  general  ideas  alarm  their  minds,  which  are  accus- 
tomed to  positive  calculations ;  and  they  hold  practice  in 
more  honor  than  theory. 

It  is  in  America  that  one  learns  to  understand  the  influ- 
ence which  physical  prosperity  exercises  over  political  ac- 
tions, and  even  over  opinions  which  ought  to  acknowledo-e 
no  sway  but  that  of  reason  ;  and  it  is  more  especially 
among  strangers  that  this  truth  is  perceptible.  Most  of 
the  European  emigrants  to  the  New  World  carry  with 
them  that  wild  love  of  independence  and  change  which 
our  calamities  are  so  apt  to  produce.      I  sometimes  met 


CAUSES  WHICH  TEND  TO  MAINTAIN   DEMOOHACY.       38] 

to  filT""'  '"  *°  ^""^''  ^'"'"'  "■">  '■=«•  <«»  Obliged 
to  leave  their  country  on  account  of  their  pohtical  opinions 
They  ^1  astonished  me  by  the  language  th'ey  held,  bTIe 
of  them  surprised  me  more  than  all  the  rest.     As  I  was 
crossing  one  of  the  most  remote  districts  of  Pennsylvar 
I  was  benighted  and  obliged  to  beg  for  hospitalit/at  tl  e 
gate  of  a  wea  thy  planter,  who  was  a  Frenchman  by  birth 
Ho  bade  me  sit  down  beside  his  fire,  and  we  be<ran  to  ^ Ik 
w.  h  that  freedom  which  befits  persons  who  m°ee    t  Tht 
backwoods,  two  thousand  leagues  from  their  native  coi„! 
try.     I  was  aware  that  my  host  had  been  a  great  leveller 
and  an  ardent  demagogue  forty  yea,^  ago,- ^nd  that  M 
name  was  in  history.     I  was  therefore  no^a  little  su  led 
to  hear  hnn  discuss  the  rights  of  property  as  an  economist 
or  a  land-owner  might  have  done:  he  spoke  of  theliec 
sry  gradations  which  fortune  establishes  among  men  of 
obedience  to  established  laws,  of  the  influence  of  lod 
morals  m  commonwealths,  and  of  the  support  which  rX- 
lous  opinions  give  to  order  and  to  freedom;  he  even  wem 
so  far  as  to  quote  the  authority  of  our  Saviour  in  supZ 
of  one  of  his  pohtical  opinions.  ^^ 

son      How  can  we  discover  whether  a  proposition  is  true 
or  false,  in  the  midst  of  the  micertainties  of  science  and  I 
conflicting  lessons  of  experience  ?    A  new  feet  disperses  „H 
my  doubts.     I  was  poor,  I  have  become  rich;  afid  I  am 
no    to  expect  that  prosperity  will  act  npon  my  conduct 
and   leave  my  judgment  free.      In    truth,   Jy  cj ITo^ 
change  with  my  fortune;   and  the  happy  cirfumLic 
which  I  turn  to  my  advantage  fiirnish  me  with  that  deci- 
sive argument  which  was  before  wantincr. 

The  influence  of  prosperity  acts  stilt  more  freely  anon 
Americans  than  upon  sti-angers.  The  American  has  al- 
"■ays  seen  public  order  and  public  prosperity  intimately 
united,  and  proceeding  side  by  side  befol  his  eyes  -1  "I 


■Wl  i 


Frv' 


382 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


,^i 


liiQil 


^ 


^' 


6' 


cannot  e^en  imagine  that  one  can  subsist  without  tlie 
other :  lie  has  therefore  nothing  to  forget ;  nor  has  he. 
like  so  many  Europeans,  to  unlearn  the  lessons  of  his  early 
education.  "^ 


INFLUENCE   OF  THE   LAWS   UPON    THE   MAINTENANCE   OF  THE 
DEMOCRATIC    REPUBLIC    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Three  principal  Causes  of  the  Maintenance  of  the  Democratic  RepubUc  - 
Federal  Union.  -  Township  Institutions.  -  Judicial  Power. 

The  principal  aim  of  this  book  has  been  to  make  known 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  ;  if  this  purpose  has  been 
accomplished,  the  reader  is  already  enabled  to  judo-e  for 
himself  which  are  the  laws  that  really  tend  to  maintain 
the  democratic  republic,  and  which  endanger  its  existence. 
If  I  have  not  succeeded  in  explaining  this  in  the  whole 
course  of  my  wor];.,  I  cannot  hope  to  do  so  in  a  single 
chapter.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  retrace  the  path  I  have 
already  pursued ;  and  a  few  lines  will  suffice  to  recapitu- 
late what  I  have  said. 

^,      Three  circumstances  seem  to  me  to  contribute  more  than 
I     all  others  to  the  maintenance  of  the  democratic  republic  in 
the  United  States. 

Thejrstis  thnt  fndpj;gLform_^goyernment  which  the 
A^?ieia£ansJiaxe-.adopted,,aud^^ 
^'on?,%e..the^Eov^^  ^^^^ 

of  a  small  pna;  .^..,,^ -J***  J- 

The  second  consists  in  those  township  institutions  which 

Hmit  the  despotism '5rtKl^ft^HH:S;j£^ 
impart  to  the  people  a  taste  for  freedom,  and  ihe.-«i.W)f 
being  free  ;  ——»>-. 

The  third   is   to   be  found  in  the   constitution  of  the 
judiciaP^^^r.     iWi  shown  "Wlh^  courts  of  justice 

^!^e«!L3jiiimct  the  impulses^^^^^^ 
ping  Its  activity. 


\?ff 


Vfr^ 


>5^ 


^•vr- 


CAUSES  WHICH  nm>  TO  „A,NT„K  I>.„oo«AOY.      888 

•NFIOENCE   OF  MANNERS   UPON   TB„   „.. 

DBMOCR.TIC   BEPUBUcTn   THE   UNfrn""""^  °''  ™» 

^    liN    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

causes  to  wl.ich  the  maintenanceTf  .  ^^^  genera] 
in  the  United  States  is  at  Ztablo  V^"""^"P'"'""' 
««««•»  with  the  meanin.  whirl  In  ^  ""  "°'<' 
the  word  «<,™,-  for  I  apnlv  h  w  .  """  """='""'  '» 
ly  so  called,  _4at  is  to  wh  ,        ll '°  '"™"^'^  P«>P«»- 

r.™t  among  men  Ld  t!  th™     "'  TT  ""<'  "P'"'""'  <=-- 

^titute  th^r  ei:::r:et  of  ;;7  "VT  '"f"^  *^''  ^ 
term,  therefore  the  »1   .  ,  '='»np™e  under  this 

of  a  peo;:  X  intlr      ""''  '"?"^"'™'  --J"'"" 

Americanmanne^  bm      "  .",""'  '.°  '''^"  "  P'^-''^  "f 

of  them  as  are  fro'J^llrf  "•'''''"'  ""'  ^^l"  ''«"«- 
eal  institutions.  '"  ""'"'""""^^  of  their  poUti- 


REUGION    CONSIDERED  Aa   A    »n,™, 

r0WERP„.„  CONXRitDXES  "oThe'mI^Z™"*  ^"'^ 
BBMOCRAXIC   REPUEUC   AMONoL"  XH^E'IScAr^  '"' 

the  most  Democratic  and  most  Republican  cTa.  ''  """^  '"™ 

op^nS  t  IZeetf  w-ilh  t  t  ^1  ^  "f - 
human  mind  be  left  to  follow  it   „,™  b^tt  w^'     "."■' 

hetemponU  and  spiritual  institu^s  o™'  17/17"  •' 
form  manner;  and  man  will  endeavor  VfT*  "" 

to  har„^i,e  earth  with  heaven  '         """^  '"  'P-^^' 

The  greatest  part  of  Britkh    &  r^    • 

-who,  after  u,f,:rtrtra:iho?;"^:?,^ 


m 


nil 


1  (.-  *ri£» 


384 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


Pope,  acknowledged  no  other  religious  supremacy:  they 
bought  with  them  into  the  New  World  a  form  of  Chris- 
tianity, which  I  cannot  better  describe  than  by  styling  it 
a  democratic  and  republican  religion.  This  contributed 
powerfully  to  the  establishment  of  a  repubhc  and  a  de- 
mocracy in  public  affairs ;  and  from  the  beginning,  politics 
and  religion  contracted  an  alliance  which  has  never  been 
dissolved. 

About  fifty  years  ago,  Ireland  began  to  pour  a  Catholic 
population  into  the  United  States ;  and  on  their  part,  the 
Catholics  of  America  made  proselytes,  so  that,  at  the  pres- 
ent moment,  more  than  a  milhon  of  Christians,  professing 
the  trftths  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  are  to  be  found  in  the 
Union.  These  Catholics  are  faithful  to  the  observances  of 
their  religion ;  they  are  fervent  and  zealous  in  the  belief 
of  their  doctrines.  Yet  they  constitute  the  most  repub- 
lican and  the  most  democratic  class  in  the  United  States. 
This  fact  may  surprise  the  observer  at  first,  but  the  causes 
of  it  may  easily  be  discovered  upon  reflection. 

I  think  that  the  Cathohc  religion  has  erroneously  been 
regarded  as  the  natural  enemy  of  democracy.  Amongst 
the  various  sects  of  Christians,  Catholicism  seems  to  me, 
on  the  contrary,  to  be  one  of  the  most  favorable  to  equality 
of  condition  among  men.  In  the  Catholic  Church,  the 
religious  community  is  composed  of  only  two  elements; 
the  priest  and  the  people.  The  priest  alone  rises  abo/e 
the  rank  of  his  flock,  and  all  below  him  are  equal. 

On  doctrinal  points,  the  Catholic  faith  places  all  human 
capacities  upon  the  same  level;  it  subjects  the  wise  and 
ignorant,  the  man  of  genius  and  the  vulgar  crowd,  to  the 
details  of  the  same  creed ;  it  imposes  the  same  observances 
upon  the  rich  and  needy,  it  inflicts  the  same  austerities 
upon  the  strong  and  the  weak ;  it  listens  to  no  compromise 
with  mortal  man,  but,  reducing  all  the  human  race  to  the 
same  standard,  it  confounds  all  the  distinctions  of  society 


CAUSES  WHICH  TENB  TO  MAmTAIN  DEMOCEACV.       38« 

than  toLder  them  tquii  "^1:^?"  '"'i^P™"-'-  -^ 
cl^e,  of  society  are  more  e,„d  than  L^         """ 

been  used  tre-cJ'The'l^rn  "of  Z"  "iv  T'*^^' 
thin^  to  which  he  helonger  Thl  t'  CtX^! 

of  condition  into  the  political  worU  "'"^'5' 

If.  then,  the  Catholic  citizens  of  tho  TT„!..j  o.  . 

Mace  the™  "  "™  P""'''«^'-     ^heae  t™  causes 

SfwHch  thevlT't"'^'  '°  '"^°I"  Po'-'-'J  d- 
they  wTr^  „• 'r  T  ''"''"'?'  ^upportwith  less  zeal  if 
tney  were  nch  and  preponderant. 

attemnt^t""'  "^"Y  "^  "'^  ^''''"^  ^^'^^  have  never 
attempted  to  oppose  th,s  political  tendency;  but  they  seeT 


I  w  iiiiUipi 


886 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


ii^'  I 


Hi 


rather  to  justify  it.  Tlie  Catholic  priests  in  America  liave 
divided  the  intellectual  worid  into  two  parts :  in  the  one, 
they  place  the  doctrines  of  revealed  religion,  whicli  they 
assent  to  without  discussion ;  in  the  other,  they  leave  those 
political  truths,  which  thev  beheve  the  Deity  has  left  open 
to  free  inquiry.  Thu.i  tlio  Cutholics  of  the  United  States 
are  at  the  same  time  tlie  moit  submissive  behevers  and  the 
most  independent  citizens. 

It  may  be  asserted,  then,  that  in  the  United  States  no 
religious  doctrine  displays  the  slightest  hostility  to  demo- 
cratic and  republican  institutions  T?  >.  clergy  of  all  the 
diflferent  sects  there  hold  the  same  language ;  their  opinions 
are  in  agreement  with  the  laws,  and  the  human  mind  flows 
onwards,  so  to  speak,  in  one  undivided  current. 

I  happened  to  be  staying  in  one  of  the  largest  cities  in 
the  Union,  when  I  was  invited  to  attend  a  public  meeting 
in  favor  of  the  Poles,  and  of  sending  them  supplies  of 
arms  and  money.  I  found  two  or  three  thousand  persons 
collected  in  a  vast  hall,  which  had  been  prepared  to  receive 
them.  In  a  short  time,  a  priest,  in  his  ecclesiastical  robes, 
advanced  to  the  front  of  the  platfoi-m :  the  spectators  rose, 
and  stood  uncovered  in  silence,  whilst  he  spoke  in  the  fol- 
lowing terms:  — 

"  Almighty  God  I  the  God  of  armies  1  Thou  who  didst 
strengthen  the  hearts  and  guide  the  arms  of  our  fathers 
when  they  were  fighting  for  the  sacred  rights  of  their 
national  independence!  Thou  who  didst  make  them  tri- 
umph over  a  hateful  oppression,  and  hast  granted  to  our 
people  the  benefits  of  liberty  and  peace  I  turn,  O  Lord,  a 
favorable  eye  upon  the  other  hemisphere;  pitifully  look 
down  upon  an  heroic  nation  which  is  even  now  struo-o-lino 
as  we  did  in  the  former  time,  and  for  the  same  rights. 
Thou,  who  didst  create  man  in  the  same  image,  let  not 
tyranny  mar  thy  work,  and  establish  inequality  upon  the 
earth.     Ahnighty  God!  do  thou  watch  over  the  destiny 


CAUSES   W„,o„  XE^O   TO  MA,NTA,.   „EMOC«AOV.       38V 

their  anns!    Shed  foX  "hi  ..'''  "'^  ''""S"*  »''»'« 
scatter  the  powe«  „h"     Lke  T""  '^''''  ^^'^^i 

permit  not  the  injustice  It.  r™''  ,'^"''  *«•»;  ""d 
fifty  years  to  be  collm!  2  "'"''''  '""  """^^^^^  «>f 
holdost  alike  the  he"  Hf  nai'"  "VT  «  ^-J'  -ho 
e*l  hand,  ™se  up  allil  t 'T  ^-^ '"^^ "»  »  %  pow- 
-use  the  French "natn  ^o^T:;'^,,^'^^  "f  ^8"'^ 
rulers  retain  it,  tliat  it  m«„     T  ^    "^  '"  ^''ich  its 

liberties  of  the  w„rM        ""  '"  ^"'''^  "«»'»  *»  %''t  for  the 

"  Lord,  turn  not  thou  thv  ft,.o  c 
we  may  alway  be  the  mo  7  ~?  •  ""  "''  ""'  8«">t  that 
people  of  the  earth  Xtel  =^  -"  -  "-  freest, 
tions  this  day.  Save  the Xs  1  I  ^^\  T  ="PP'-'^ 
name  of  thy  wcll-beloved  Son  our  T  >?''"  *^'"''  '"  *« 
died  upon  the  cross  for  the  XL  f.f'''"^  ^''™''  -^o 
TWho,emeetin,^po:£?ll--;,.--; 

"   THE   ONITEB   STATES. 

Chri«ti,„  Morality  coinmoa  to  all  Sect.  _l„» 

Manoer,  of  .he  American.. -Cr'""™"' ''  »•"«'»"  «P<>n  fl.. 
Re%™  confine,  the  ta.Jnyi.fjf"/"  ""  M°"i«ge  Tie._H„, 
"».  .nd  check,  the  P^.>o!ZZtZ      T'"  ^"f  """"  ''"'- 


H 


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1  'i£ 


m 


888 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


■   ^mm  >'     -f     V 


merable.     They  nil  difFer  in  respect  to  the  worship  which 
is  due  to  the  Creator ;  but  they  all  agree  in  respect  to  the 
duties  which  are  duo  from  man  to  man.     Each  sect  adores 
the  Deity  in  its  own  peculiar  manner ;  but  all  sects  preach 
the  same  moral  law  m  the  name  of  God.     If  it  be  of  the 
liighest  importance  to  man,  as  an  individual,  that  his  relig- 
ion should  be  true,  it  is  not  so  to  society.     Society  has  no 
future  life  to  hope  for  or  to  fear ;  and  provided  the  citizens 
profess  a  religion,  the  peculiar  tenets  of  that  religion  are 
of  little   importance   to   its   interests.     Moreover,  all   the 
sects  of  the  United  States  are  comprised  within  the  great 
unity  of  Christianity,  and  Christian  moraUty  is  everywhere 
the  same. 

It  may  fairly  be  believed,  that  a  certain  number  of 
Americans  pursn.e  a  peculiar  form  of  worship  from  habit 
more  than  from  conviction.  In  the  United  States,  the 
sovereign  authority  is  religious,  and  consequently  hypocrisy 
must  be  common ;  but  there  is  no  country  in  the  world 
where  the  Christian  religion 'retains  a  greater  influence 
.  Dver  the  souls  of  men  than  in  America ;  and  there  can  be 
no  greater  proof  of  its  utility,  and  of  its  conformity  to 
human  nature,  than  that  its  influence  is  powerfully  felt 
>2X?E..^^6. i^ost  enlightened  and  free  nation  of  the  earth. 

I  have  remarked  that  the  American  clergy  in  general,- 
without  even  excepting  those  who  do  not  admit  religious, 
liberty,  are  all  in  favor  of  civil  freedom ;  but  they  do  not 
support  any  particular  political  system.  They  keep  aloof 
from  parties,  and  from  public  affairs.  In  the  United 
States,  religion  exercises  but  little  influence  upon  the  laws, 
and  upon  the  details  of  pubhc  opinion ;  but  it  directs  the 
manners  of  the  community,  and,  by  regulating  domestic 
hfe,  it  regulates  the  state. 

I  do  not  question  that  the  great  austerity  of  manners 
which  is  observable  in  the  United  States  arises,  in  the  first 
instance,  from  religious  faith.     Religion  is  often  imable  to 


ever^.l.ing  eontrib„te.  to  I„  e  ^'7^  /""  """'' 
the  mind  of  „„„„„  ;,  supreme  a'nrl  '""'"•'"™  o™' 

t-tors  of  morals.  Th  J ^ "  ;;^„'',;7™  -«  "■"  Pr- 
world  where  the  tie  of  marnVe  i^^  """"""^  '"  "'« 
America,  oi  where  coniu^J  f  ".■"•>'•". '•«P«<^ted  than  i„ 

worthi,,  appreciat:d:Ti5ni::  :z  'f  Z 

ances  of  society  arise  from  th.  '  T  .  *^'^  '^'^^''''^ 
f  To  despis^  the  n^^::;  ^S^^^!^  T'' 
of  home,  .3  to  contract  a  taste  for  excSe  T     ''^'""^ 

European  is  ^^^l^Z^^J^  ^f"f  ^^ 
powers  of  the  state  exact  „,,,  '^  ■  ^^'''"'™ 
retires  from  the  turmoil  oTpuUic  li  fe  L  ""l  "=  ^'"'™''" 
ftmily,  1,0  finds  in  it  the  hnal  of  !  ,        ^7""  "^  ^" 

There  his  pleasures  are  si^.f and  natall  1 "' ''"''^- 
innocent  and  calm;  and  as  hi  fi„  ,  "  "'"''™'« '"'  joys  are 
the  surest  path  to  ha„„il      ,  """  ""  "''''"'•'y  ''&  « 

to  moderate'h  s  „X  rr;^  'IT-T™'  ''''^'''  -^"y 
European  endeavors  to  folr-  ,  '  '^"''  ■*^'"''''  *e 
tatini  society,  T  A^IS  dLvrfrtr"'^'  "r^'" 
that  love  of  order  which  he  =(V  ■  """  '"""^ 

into  public  affairs'  "™'''''  <^''™^  «''*  ""» 

In  the  United  States,  the  influence  „f  ,.„IP  •       • 
confined  to  the  manners  but  itT?  j         ,^"'"  "  "»' 
of  the  people.    Amonl  the  1  I    A    '"-""^  "'telligence, 
fees  thi  doctrines  Tc"  ntvtt        """'  ""^  P^"" 
them,  and  others  do  ,,,„        "" "^  fr<»"  "  ^'ncere  belief  in 

pected  of  :l2t    ChriSitv  ThT  f""^'  '"''  '"  "^  "^■ 
obstacle,  by  i-niver,,!  .?     ^  ^'  ,"'^'*™'  ■•«§"'  without 

have  before  Zved    Z      ^      '  •  """^"^™''  ■'•  ^  ^ 
world  is  fixed  and  d!»  ™7  P"™'P'"  "^  «'«  >noral 

is  abando!:d?ttirtr:;dlrf  *^  '*'^^'  ^™^" 

««udies  and  the  experiments  of  men. 


390 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


Thus  the  human  mind  is  never  left  to  wander  over  a 
boundless  field ;  and,  whatever  may  be  its  pretensions,  it 
is  checked  from  time  to  time  by  barriers  which  it  can- 
not surmount.  Before  it  can  innovate,  certain  primary 
principles  are  laid  down,  and  the  boldest  conceptions  are 
subjected  to  certain  forms  which  retard  and  stop  their 
completion. 

The  imagination  of  the  Americans,  even  in  its  greatest 
flights,  is   circumspect   and  undecided;   its   impulses   are 
checked,  and  its  works  unfinished.     These  habits  of  re- 
straint recur  in  poKtical  society,  and  are  singularly  favora- 
ble both  to  the  tranquillity  of  the  people  and  the  durability 
of  the  institutions  they  have  estabKshed.     Nature  and  cir- 
cumstances have  made  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States 
bold,  as  is  sufficiently  attested  by  the  enterprising  spirit 
with  which   they  seek  for  fortune.     If  the  mind  of  the 
Americans  were  free  from  all  trammels,  they  would  shortly 
become  the  most  daring  innovators  and  the  most  persistent 
disputants  in  the  worid.     But  the  revolutionists  of  Amer- 
ica are  obliged  to  profess  an  ostensible  respect  for  Christian 
morahty  and  equity,  which  does  not  permit  them  to  violate 
wantonly  the  laws  that  oppose  their  designs ;  nor  would 
they  find  it  easy  to  surmount  the  scruples  of  their  parti- 
sans, even  if  they  were  able  to  get  over  their  own.     Hith- 
erto, no  one  in  the  United  States  has  dared  to  advance  the 
maxim  that  everything  is  permissible  for  the  interests  of 
society, --an  impious  adage,  which  seems  to  have  been 
invented  in  an  age  of  freedom  to  shelter  all  future  tyrants. 
Thus,  whilst  the  law  permits  the  Americans  to  do  what 
they  please,  religion  prevents  them  from  conceiving,  and 
forbids  them  to  commit,  what  is  rash  or  unjust. 

Religion  in  America  takes  no  direct  part  in  the  govern- 
ment of  society,  but  it  must  be  regarded  as  the  first  of 
their  political  institutions ;  for  if  it  does  not  impart  a  taste 
for  freedom,  it  facilitates  the  use  of  it.     Indeed,  it  is  in 


>~..*tm^„:^ats  „««!.^, 


CADSES  WmoH  TEND  TO  MAKTADI  DEMOCRACY.      39] 

AiB  same  point  of  view  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  United 
States  themselves  look  npon  religious  belief.  I  do  n^ 
ttr^S*"  1  *^  Amerieanslve  a  since  J  faUht 

butlat^  :~  T''*'^  """  "^'"^  ">"  human  heart?- 
but  I  am  certain  that  they  hold  it  to  be  indispensable  to 
the  mamtenance  of  repubhcan  institutions.  This  „niln 
■snot  peculiar  to  a  class  of  citizens,  or  to  a  pa  ty T  ^ 
belong  to  the  whole  nation,  and  to  eve.y  rank  of  focie^v 

In  the  United  States,  if  a  politician  Tttacks  a  eTfhis 
may  not  prevent  the  partisans  of  that  very  sect  irom  sut 
porting  km ;  but  if  he  attacks  aU  the  sects  together  eveT 
one  abandons  him,  and  he  remains  alone.         °         '    ^ 

caW  ft'tlT  '"  "^""f?  '  ^''"''''  ^'"'  ^'Vmoi  to  be 
New  yII^    fT'""!  f  *'''  ^'"""'y^f  Chester  (State  of 

ence  of  God  or  ,n  the  immortality  of  the  soul.     The  iud^e 
refased  to  admit  his  evidence,  on  the  ground  that  th    wS 
ness  had  destroyed  beforehand  all  the  confidence  of  The 
court  in  what  he  was  about  to  sav  •    Tl,„  7 
related  the  fact  without  any  furtheT-conreL."™^^^''"' 

Yorkl  .  f™  .1.       ■  .  ^°"°°°  J^'™  "f  Chester  Coaniy  ,Ne,r 

been  aware  ib^LJlT     f  '    "'  "^'""'''  "«"  ''"  >^  °<»  «»« 

u  ueen  permuted  to  testify  without  such  belief." 
ica?4;^:^r^^^^^  ^^'^^^^  -otapeculiarit^of  A^e. 

a  mark  of  Ze  t  f^rte  ChH  7    ",  "  ''^^  """^^^-     '' ''  °°'  "^'^^^  - 
thy  of  belief  buh7  '"''  ''^'^^°°'  '"  ^"'^''''  ^"^  ^'^'^'^  i«  «nwor. 

except      i  i^^^^^  '^  f  r'^  ^«  ^-^^^  -  a  court  of  justice 

sanction,  in  th   luTh  ;f  1^^  '"  °^  ™^^°^"»'  ^^--«  >*  ^a.  no 

future  retribudon     lie  !r.  7  ""*  '^"'^^  ^°  ^  just  God  and  a 

not  believrwtt  others  beT."  T'"''''  ''"^'^"'  "°*  '^^  ^^  ^oes 
What  others  believe,  but  because  lie  cannot  be  sworn. -Am  Ed  J 


392 


DEMOCRACY  IN  .AMERICA. 


The  Americans  combine  the  notions  of  Christianity  and 
of  hberty  so  intimately  in  then-  minds,  that  it  is  impossible 
to  make  them  conceive  the  one  without  the  other;  and 
with  them,  this  conviction  does  not  spring  from  that  bar- 
ren, traditionary  faith  which  seems  to  vegetate  rather  than 
to  Jive  m  the  soul. 

I  have  known  of  societies  formed  by  the  Americans  to 
send  out  ministers  of  the  Gospel  into  the  new  Western 
States  to  found  schools  and  churches  there,  lest  religion 
should  be  suffered  to  die  away  in  those  remote  settlements, 
and  the  rising  States  be  less  fitted  to  enjoy  free  institutions 
than  the  people  from  whom  they  came.     I  met  with  weal- 
thy iVew-Englanders  who  abandoned  the  country  in  which 
they  were  born,  in  order  to  lay  the  foundatioiis  of  Chris- 
tiamty  and  of  freedom  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri,  or  in 
the  prairies  of  Illinois.     Thus  religious  zeal  is  perpetually 
warmed  m  the  United  States  by  the  fires  of  patriotism, 
ihese  men  do  not  act  exclusively  from  a  consideration  of  a 
tuture  ak  ;  eternity  is  only  one  motive  of  their  devotion 
tothecavse.     If  you  converse  with  these  missionaries  of 
Christian  civihzation,  you  will  be  surprised  to  hear  them 
speak  so  often  of  the  goods  of  this  world,  and  to  meet  a 
po  iticiai)  where  you  expected  to  find  a  priest.     They  ^iH 
tell  you  that  "  all  the  American  republics  are  collectively 
involved  with  each  other;  if  the  republics  of  the  West 
were  to  fall  into  anarchy,  or  to  be  mastered  by  a  despot, 
the  repubhcan  institutions  which  now  flourisli  upon  the 
shores  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  would  be  in  great  peril.     It 
IS  therefore  our  interest  that  the  new  States  should  be  re- 
Iigious  m  order  that  they  may  peimit  us  to  remain  free." 

feuch  are  the  opinions  of  the  Americans :  and  if  any 
hold  that  the  religious  spirit  which  I  admire  is  the  very 
thmg  most  amiss  in  America,  and  that  the  only  element 
wanting  to  the  freedom  and  happiness  of  the  human  race 
on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean  is  to  believe  with  Spinoza  in 


'^'"tnmgmt... 


CAUSES   WHICH  mi>   TO  MAINTAIN  nEMOCBACy.      393 

hold  this  iCiTaU  "A  "P'^;  '^'"  *-  -ho 
they  have  nerer  seenT  "li  '"  '^'"™'=*'  ^^  "'-' 

theyretumCa  ™i;,f^,^;"^  °?  ^^^^  "^''™-     When 
•hey  have  to  say.  """""'y'  ^"^  «''""  hear  what 

~e  the  iLi:-:;::  t^r^pfrir^  *^^ 

and  misery  from  power  and  riches  ST  ™^ 

this  gulf  with  r^ns,  that  ^^ITt^Zr^"^  «"  "P 

■nen  are  the  »»&«m  of  liberty,  ^IdXhtfoVh  '' 

advantage,  whatever  h.  »!,.      .         ,  ^  *heir  own 

public  wil    sta^d  kL         \    r  ""'y  ^''^'"•-     The  r^ 
upoutof  hirpreiTnf  dT"?:      ''^''™'^''°  ''^'^'^  "-" 

and  not  of  their  interit,      nl     7^  "^  passions, 

feitl.,  hut  liberty  cann^    rS    ?    '•""  ""'^  «°™™  "*»"' 
in  the  republic ISev^^tCb'  ""T' ■"'"'  ""^'^^ 

"»«^ters,  if  tliey  be  not  submissive  to  tlie  Deity? 


milM 


1 


894 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


'V 


PRINCIPAL    CAUSES     WHICH     RENDER     RELIGION     POWERFUI 

IN  AMERICA. 

Care  taken  by  the  Americans  to  separate  the  Church  from  the  State. —  The 
Laws,  Public  Opinion,  and  even  the  Exertions  of  the  Clergy,  concur  to 
promote  this  End.  -  Influence  of  Religion  upon  the  Mind  in  the  United 
States  attributable  to  this  Cause.  -  Reason  of  this.  —  What  is  the  Nat- 
oral  State  of  Men  with  regard  to  Religion  at  the  Present  Time.  —  What 
are  the  Peculiar  and  Incidental  Causes  which  prevent  Men,  in  certain 
Countries,  from  arriving  at  this  State. 

The  philosophers  of  the  eighteenth  century  explained  in 
a  very  simple  manner  the  gradual  decay  of  religious  faith. 
Religious  zeal,  said  they,  must  necessarily  fail  the  more 
generally  liberty  is  established  and  knowledge  diffiised. 
Unfortunately,  the  facts  by  no  means  accord  with  their 
theory.  There  are  certain  populations  in  Europe  whose 
unbelief  is  only  equalled  by  theh-  ignorance  and  debase- 
ment; whilst  in  America,  one  of  the  freest  and  most 
enlightened  nations  in  the  world  fulfil  with  fervor  aU  the 
outward  duties  of  religion. 

On  my  arrival  in  the  United  States,  the  rehgious  aspect 
of  the  country  was  the  first  thing  that  struck  my  attention; 
and  the  longer  I  stayed  there,  the  more  I  perceived  the 
great  political  consequences  resulting  from  this  new  state 
of  things.     In  France,  I  had  ahnost  always  seen  the  spirit 
of  religion  and  the  spirit  of  freedom  marching  in  opposite 
directions.     But  in  America,  I  found  they  were  intimately 
united,  and  that  they  reigned  in  common  over  the  same 
country.     My  desire  to  discover  the  causes  of  this  phe- 
nomenon increased  fi-om  day  to  day.     In  order  to  satisfy 
It,  I  questioned  the  members  of  all  the  different  sects ;  I 
souglit  especially  the  society  of  the  clergy,  who  are  the 
depositaries  of  the  different  creeds,  and  are  especially  in- 
terested  in  their  duration.     As  a  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic   Church,  I  was  more   particularly  brought  into 


.-iML*iiBfi**>»-«. 


CAUSES  WHICH  TENB  TO  MAICTAIN  DEMOCRACY.       395 
contact  with  sevpral  nf  iVo       •    . 

intimate.,  ..,Z2\:'To  ZT^T  "'""t  '  "^^ 
my  astonishment  and  ^xZT^  °  ^t  """  ^  "'=I"^^^«' 
they  diiTered  upon  matS  of  ft  T,    """^  =  ^  ''»"■"*  *=" 

attributed  the  p'eaoerdrniot"^1^rt  t-*^^  ^ 
t.y  mainly  to  the  separation  of  cllch  fZt  .  "'7,'="""- 
hesitate  to  affirm,  that,  during  „  "n  Ame  '  T  7^ 
not  meet  a  single  individual,  rf  the  ct^^of tl?-?  f 
was  not  of  the  same  opinion  upon  th^l  ""  '="'^'  -■"> 

huS:'irthrsr:;hrth:r™' ^  '^r  ^  ^- 

cupy  in  poMtical  society.  I  leald  with  '™  "'^^  """ 
filled  no  publie  appoin^n L  ^1  id  1  ""^™'  *?  "^^^ 
in  the  administJL,  and  theV  are  1  ""'  "^  *^'" 

the  legislative  -semMe.  T  ^"11^'?!'''^'!  " 
excludes  them  from  poliLl  llff  t  ?'*  ""^  '™ 
And  when  I  camel  ^W      -^  '  f"""'  °P™™  ™  ""■ 

the  Cergy,  lirdVa^ZtTits  mS''"»" '''"'^^ 
'•'pHro  r^f  ^■l,  •  "^  members  seemed  to 

r;:;  mrrtheT^fT  r^^^-™^  -^  p---  ™" 

from  poLcs  '^  '''  °^  *'■'•  P™*'''-''"'  to  abstain 

■"eeping.     cleiCTmen  often  serve  molfh^,  "^^^     '™'  ''  ""• 

°7™'"  «  .he  W„  ta  either  of  .he.e  offieer^';    ll\  ""' ""  °°'  » 

t  Thej  are  not  represented  a.  mci      r<„,  .i,.  .    ' 

sen.  their  townships,  o.  even  their  sLt'crLT  -TT  '"  "^''• 

An"/:  "^°°:*--""  °f  *w  York,.  Art.  VI     g  4  !' 
And  whereas  the  ministers  nP  tho  r       i 

cated  to  the  service  of  God  Id  h,  el  „7  T  "'  ""'  '"'""'""'■  "" 
«rted  froM  the  ,„»t  dntiesTf  t  e  r  l4°  l:  °"°""*  °°!  "  "°  ^■ 
«^pel,  or  priest  of  .n,  denomination"  I^vt'Su  «  "'I'"  °[  *° 
«ft«r,  under  any  pretence  or  1  .™„,-       '™™''  '™l>  »'  any  time  here. 

of  holding,  an^cyjm^la'Xrn"'""',''.'  '>"*  '"^  °' '"f""' 
bee  ai'o  fh«  r  ^  ^  P'*^^®  ^"*'"n  this  State." 

»ee  a?.o  the  Const.t.aions  of  North  Cavolina  Art    YTVT      ir-    •  • 

Sortu  Carolina,  Art.  I.  §  23;  Kentuckv  aT.  I'lTse^e    '        'T  ' 
^.  §  1 ;  Louisiana.  Art.  II.  §  22.  '  ^^°°«'«<^'  ^- 


( 


rf?T" 


•"■"'iiftiefelWfcK.-, 


896 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


I  heard  them  inveigh  pgainst  ambition  and  deceit,  under 
whatever  political  opinions  these  vices  might  chance  to 
Inrk ;  but  I  learned  from  their  discom-ses  that  men  are 
not  guilly  in  the  eye  of  God  for  any  opinions  concerning 
political  government  which  they  may  profess  with  sincer- 
ity, any  more  than  they  are  for  their  mistakes  in  building 
a  house,  or  in  driving  a  furrow.     I  perceived  that  these 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  eschewed  all  parties,  with  the  anxi- 
ety attendant  upon  personal  interest.      These  facts  con- 
vinced me  that  what  I  had  been  told  was  true ;  and  it  then 
became  my  object  to  investigate  their  causes,  and  to  inquire 
how  it  happened  that  the  real  authority  of  rehgion  was 
increased  by  a  state  of  things  which  diminished  its  appar- 
ent force :  these  causes  did  not  long  escape  my  researches. 

The  short  space  of  threescore  years  can  never  content 
the  imagination  of  man  ;  nor  can  the  imperfect  joys  of  this 
world  satisfy  his  heart.     Man  alone,  of  all  created  beings, 
displays  a  natural  contempt  of  existence,  and  yet  a  bound- 
less desire  to  exist ;  he  scorns  life,  but  he  dreads  anniliila,- 
tion.     These  different  feehngs  incessantly  urge  his  soul  to 
the  contemplation  of  a  future  state,  and  religion  directs  his 
musings  thither.     Religion,  then,  is  simply  another  form 
of  hope ;  and  it  is  no  less  natural  to  the  human  heart  than 
hope  itself.      Men   cannot   abandon   their  religious  faith 
without  a  kind  of  aberration  of  intellect,  and  a  sort  of  vio- 
lent distortion  of  their  true  nature  ;  they  are  invincibly 
brought  back  to  more  pious  sentimonts.     Unbelief  is  an 
accident,  and  faith  is  the  only  permanent  state  of  mankind. 
If  we  consider  religious  institutions  merely  in  a  human 
point  of  view,  they  may  be  said  to  derive  an  inexhaustible 
element  of  strength  from  man  himsolf,  since  they  belong  to 
one  of  the  constituent  principles  of  liuman  nature. 

I  am  aware  that,  at  certain  times,  religion  may  strengthen 
this  influence,  which  originates  in  itself,  by  the  artificial 
power  of  the  laws,  and  by  the  support  of  those  temporal 


\ 


CAUSES  WHICH  TEND  TO  MAINTAIN  DEMOCIiACY.      397 

institutions  which    direct    sooiVtv       p  !•  • 

united  with    the   govem^eirj  t^TtTCX'' 

immortality  which  lives  i„  every  humT  V,  .  "^  "'^ 
aspire  to  universal  dominion  •  bufwh  ^  °''''  "  """^ 
with  a  government  itT,   7 '.  "  "  """"''<=*«  't^elf 

cable  o„V  t  c'ta  L  nils  II  ""T  "'"""  ""^  "PP"" 
with  a  political  nower  t?  ' '"  *"™'"«  '"  "»'■»<=« 

a  w  L  ^liiTSf :?'r:.^-t!:  r  "^ »- 

the  afiections  of  all  manl^nd  But  tf  f  "T  '"'"' 
the  bitter  passions  of  the  w^rld  it  1  K  ""''"^  "^  "* 
defend  allies  whom  It,  t,  T^  ''^  constrained  to 

love,  have  given  to  i  "t"  '  T  ™'  *'"  P™<='P'^  "^ 
are  still  attached  o  i  'l,o         ^     '^  antagonists  men  who 

than  the  opinions  "f^  1  f  ^f™'^  ''"^  *«'^  ''"''««" 
or  the  life  of  a^  :lirirr;  ""  """"?  "^  *«  '-^' 
condition  which  seems  TTk  .""''  "'"'"'5'  ""^  '"""^ 

and  with  the  sochT  ol  V  ""''  ""^  ™'^  determinate  ; 
The  powe^  of    i-T       '"'  '""^"""S  <='^«  """'^  ''hange. 

otlierwith  rapidity  like  thrfleeTn* 'cartVir       T"" 
government  has  ever  yet  been  f™™?  ^  '  ""''  "" 

ryot  been  fonnded  upon  an  invariable 


1 1 


°i^4 


J'*,^ 


398 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


If',' 


i€ 


disposition  of  the  human  heart,  or  upon  an  imperishable 
mterest. 

As  long  as  a  religion  is  sustained  by  those  feelings,  pro- 
pensities, and  passions  which  are  found  to  occur  under  the 
same  forms  at  all  periods  of  history,  it  may  defy  the  efforts 
of  time  ;  or,  at  least,  it  can  be  destroyed  only  by  another 
rehgion.     But  when  religion  clings  to  the  interests  of  the 
world.  It  becomes  almost  as  fragile  a  thing  as  the  powers 
of  earth.     It  is  the  only  one  of  them  all  which  can  hope 
for  immortality ;  but  if  it  be  connected  with  their  ephem- 
eral power.  It  shares  their  fortunes,  and  may  fall  with  those 
transient  passions  which  alone  supported  them.     The  alli- 
ance which  religion  contracts  with  political  powers  must 
needs  be  onerous  to  itself,  since  it  does  not  require  their 
assistance  to  hve,  and  by  giving  them  its  assistance  it  may 
be  exposed  to  decay. 

The  danger  which  I  have  just  pointed  out  always  exists, 
but  It  IS  not  always  equally  visible.     In  some  ages,  govern- 
ments seem  to  be  imperishable ;  in  others,  the  existence  of 
society  appears  to  be  more  precarious  than  the  life  of  man 
Some  constitutions  plunge  the  citizens  into  a  lethargic  som- 
nolence, and   others   rouse   them   to  feverish  excitement. 
When  governments  seem  so  strong,  and  laws  so  stable, 
men  do  not  perceive  the  dangers  which  may  accrue  from  a 
union  of  church  and  state.     When  governments   appear 
weak,  and  laws  inconstant,  the  danger  is  self-evident,  but 
It  IS  no  longer  possible  to  avoid  it.     We  must  therefore- 
learn  how  to  perceive  it  from  afar. 

In  proportion  as  a  nation  assumes  a  democratic  condition 
of  society,  and  as  communities  display  democratic  propen- 
sities. It  becomes  more  and  more  dangerous  to  connect 
religion  with  poUtical  institutions  j  for  the  time  is  comina 
when  authority  will  be  bandied  from  hand  to  hand,  wheS 
pohtical  theories  will  succeed  each  other,  and  when  men 
laws,  and  constitutions  wiU  disappear  or  be  modified  from' 


s 


CAUSES  WHICH  TESD  TO  MAIKTAm  DEMOCliACV.       390 

democratic  republics  iust  Jl     T         .        "'"'"'®  "^ 
the  law  of  ab'soLrrna^hLT"""  ^"'  ^'^^P»^^'  ^ 

fi-.,  *       ""'wrsal  decay  ?    The  Amencan  clergy  were  tbs 
fet  to  porccve  this  truth,  aud  to  act  in  conform^™  tVu 
They  saw  that  they  must  renounce  their  religious  Mu  „ce 
.f  they  were  to  strive  for  political  power,  fnd  trey  cZe 
S„r '^  '"''-'  "^  *^  --'  -*-  fan  to  sS 

In  America,  rehgion  is  perhaps  less  powerful  than  it  h. 
been  at  certain  periods  and  among  certL  na^in'   but  t 
mfluence  .s   more  lasting.    It  ^^tricts   itself  to  ite  own 
resources    but  of  these  none  can  deprive  it:  i ts  cMe" s 
l.m,ted,  but  ,t  pervades  it  and  ho.ds'it  under  united 

On  every  side  in  Europe,  we  hear  voices  complainin<r  of 

restonng  to  religion  some  remnant  of  its  former  authority 
It  seems  to  me  that  we  must  first  attentively  cons  d'r  "h^t 
ought  to  e  tke  natural  state  of  men,  with  i^Zt  X 
.on,  at  the  present  time;  and  when  we  know  what  we 
have  to  hope  and  to  fear,  we  may  discern  the  end  to  whilh 
our  efforts  ought  to  be  directed. 

The  two  great  dangers  which  threaten  the  existence  of 
rehgion  ai-e  schism  and  indifference.    In  ages  of  fervent 


400 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


devotion,  men  sometimes  abandon  their  religion,  but  they 
only  shako  one  off  in  order  to  adopt  another.     Their  faith 
changes  its  objects,  but  suffers  no  decHne.     The  old  relig- 
ion then  excites  enthusiastic  attachment  or  bitter  enmity 
in  either  party ;  some  leave  it  with  anger,  others  cling  to  it 
with  increased  devotedness,  and  although  persuasions  dif- 
fer, irreligion  is  unknown.     Such,  however,  is  not  the  case 
when  a  religious  belief  is  secretly  undermined  by  doctrines 
which  may  be  termed  negative,  since  they  deny  the  truth 
of  one  religion  without  affirmmg  that  of  any  other.     Pro- 
digious revolutions  then  take  place  in  the  human  mind, 
without  the  apparent  co-operation  of  the  passions  of  man, 
and  almost  without  his  knowledge.     Men  lose  the  objects 
of  their  fondest  hopes,  as  if  through  forgetfiilness.     They 
are  carried  away  by  an  imperceptible  current,  which  they 
have  not  the  courage  to  stem,  but  which  they  follow  with 
regret,  since  it  bears  them  away  from  a  faith  they  love,  to 
a  scepticism  that  plunges  them  into  despair. 

In  ages  which  answer  to  this  description,  men  desert 
their  religious  opinions   from  lukewarmness   rather  than 
fi'om  dislike;   they  are  not  rejected,  but  tliey  fall  away. 
But  if  the  unbeliever  does  not  admit  religion  to  be  true,  he 
still  considers  it  useful.     Regarding  religious  institutions 
in  a  human  point  of  view,  he  acknowledges  theh^  influence 
upon  maimers  and  legislation.     He  admits  that  they  may 
serve  to  make  men  live  in  peace,  and  prepare  them  gently 
for  the  hour  of  death.     He  regrets  the  faith  which  he  hao 
lost ;  and  as  he  is  deprived  of  a  treasure  of  which  he  kno\;s 
the  value,  he  fears  to  take  it  away  from  those  who  still 
possess  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  those  who  continue  to  believe  are 
not  afraid  openly  to  avow  their  faith.  They  look  upon 
those  who  do  not  share  their  persuasion  as  more  worthy 
of  pity  than  of  opposition;  and  they  are  aware,  that,  to 
acqmre  the  esteem  o^  the  unbelieving,  they  are  not  oblio-od 


CAUS.S  WiUOH  T.ND  TO  .umrA,.  BEMOCBAOV.       401 

to  follow  their  examnip      ti 

one  in  tl,e  world  Hnd'^  I tfr  ""'  ''"'"'^'  *^"' '"  »? 
in  which  tl,cy  live  a   an    *  ^  '^"  "°'.  =°"-''''«'  th"  »ciety 

pronounces  itself  i„  favor  Tll^ZT'  ""'""  "P'"'°" 
honor  are  besto  „d  „„on  it  and  ?^  ' ,  T'  '"PP""'  ^"^ 
l>uman  soul  that  we  Tn  dXt  he  °  ''  Y  """'"'"«  *« 
received.  The  m-,,,  of"  I  ,  J'"""'''  ^*''"''''  i'  I«>s 
thefeelin«ofrdi"^n  dolt         '"''"  ""  "'^^'^^  «">out 

-iti.   the   ...tabml  ed  fa  th      tT"™  ""^"""^  "'  ™"'"- 
ft-ture  life  brines    he  ,    V^  "'^'"'etive  desire  of  a 

l^earts  of  nT  ^  f  the  nrr  t  '''T  "'^  '^"'■•'  ""<•  »?<>-  the 

But  this  pi  :re  is'n  :'ar.  r™'"''°"^  "'  -«g'™- 
men  amon  Ju  "vho  haTe  ^''  ?"t  '"  '^'  ^"^  *'"=^«  -e 
without  ado  ,t^;  tv"r""'1-'"  ^^''"'  »  Christianity, 
peT,Ie:dties  f  doub^a^d  al  ^^J  °""^^  ""^  '"  '^^ 
and  other.,  again  t^'  a^id  ^  ^  ''^'f  ""'  '°  l*"^™! 
which  they'  s§i,";helht  set.r''  *"  ^''™«»"  ^^^ 

all  obstacles,  and  to  s^ZJ^'  '^^  ''""''y  '<>  •»'»™ 

faith.     The;  have  don!  ^'"'  '"  ''^'''^"^^  "^  'heir 

order  to  rise  superior"  o  nutr  '■"  •''""""  ^'^'''^"-'  '» 

eifort  they  have'!:  .'t  ,e^"  '^XC  ''f'''  "^  '"" 
and  as  thev  know  f)„t  ,i     e    !        ^    ""^  ''''"'='■*'  '»  stop; 

of  indepen'dence  ,  t  '  taf  r"  r''*''  ""  ^'•™^''  '""'^ 
their  oontemporires  with  d  .  f""'  ""^  '°*  "P™ 
the  liberty  wSZi   f  n  •'  ""''  '■'™"  "'  »'''™  f™™ 

As  unbelfef  aptr     0   h  1"?'^"'  '"''  ^^*'"S  '°  »''*-"• 
all  that  is  „ew?n  oL  in  °  '  "''™"^'  "'^^  ^""-P™" 

at  war  with  tl  eii  "  J       r'""""''  ''"™''^"^-     "^''^^  «« 
«        ^  '"'"  "S^  ""d  ™™try,  and  they  look  upon 


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402 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


every  opinion  which  is  put  forth  there  as  the  necessary 
enemy  of  faith. 

Such  is  not  the  natural  state  of  men  with  regard  to  re- 
ligion at  the  present  day ;  and  some  extraordinary  or  mci- 
dental  cause  must  be  at  work  in  France,  to  prevent  the 
human  mind  from  following  its  natural  inclination,  and 
drive  it  beyond  the  limits  at  which  it  ought  naturally  to 
stop. 

I  am  fully  convuiced  that  this  extraordinary  and  inci- 
dental cause  is  the  close  connection  of  pohtics  and  religion. 
The  unbehevers  of  Europe  attack  the  Christians  as  their 
poUtical  opponents,  rather  than  as  then*  religious  adversa- 
ries; they  hate  the  Christian  religion  as  the  opinion  of 
a  party,  much  more  than  as  an  error  of  behef ;  and  they 
reject  the  clergy  less  because  they  are  the  representatives 
of  the  Deity,  than  because  they  are  the  allies  of  govern- 
ment. 

In  Europe,  Christianity  has  been  intimately  united  to 
the  powers  of  the  earth.  Those  powers  are  now  in  decay, 
and  it  is,  as  it  were,  buried  under  their  niins.  The  living 
body  of  religion  has  been  bound  down  to  the  dead  corpse 
of  superannuated  pohty ;  cut  but  the  bonds  which  restrain 
it,  and  it  will  rise  once  more.  I  know  not  what  could  re- 
store the  Christian  Church  of  Europe  to  the  energy  of  its 
earUer  days ;  that  power  belongs  to  God  alone ;  but  it  may 
be  for  human  policy  to  leave  to  faith  the  full  exercise  of 
the  strength  which  it  still  retains. 


CAUSES   WHICH  TEND   TO   MAINTAIN  DEMOCRACY.        403 


HOW  THE  EDUCATION,  THE  HABITS,  AND  THE  PRACTICAL 
EXPERIENCE  OF  THE  AMERICANS  PROMOTE  THE  t^ 
OF   THEIR   DEMOCRATIC   INSTITUTIONS. 

Wh^t  is  to  be  understood  by  the  Education  of  the  American  People. -The 

eZT.       >?  """  "'"'"'^"^  "^™^'  '"  *'•«  United  States  than  in 
Europe.  -  No  one  completely  uninstructed.  -  Reason  of  this  -  Ranid 
.^  with  which  Opinions  are  diffixsed  even  in  the  half-cultivated  St^t^i 

:i^z:i-^LT'  """°^^  -' ''-''-'''  '^ '''  ^-^ 

I  HAVE  but  little  to  add  to  what  I  have  already  said,  con- 
cenimg  the  influence  which  the  instruction  and  the  habit, 
of  the  Americans  exercise  upon  the  maintenance  of  their 
political  institutions. 

America  has  hitherto  produced  very  few  writers  of  dis- 
tmction  •  It  possesses  no  great  historians,  and  not  a  single 
emment  poet.*  The  inhabitants  of  that  country  look  upL 
literature  properly  so  called  with  a  kind  of  disapprobation ; 
and  there  are  towns  of  second-rate  importance  in  Europe 
m  which  more  literary  works  are  annually  published  than 
in  the  twenty-four  States  of  the  Union  put  together.f 
The  spirit  of  the  Americans  is  averse  to  general  ideas;  it 

Tli^''-V''™'°*r"'  "''^''  *""  '^^^P^"S  '^'^  ^°  ^833,  when  M.  de 
rocquevjUe  wrote.     But  now,  when  the  list  of  onr  historians  contains  the 

thaTof  "'  ^r'^'  ^'^°"^^'  ""'''^y'  ^^^^y'  -«i  Hildreth.  and 

Uutt  of  our  poets  includes  those.of  Longfellow,  Bryant,  Dana,  Spr^e. 
LoweU,  and  a  crowd  of  others,  our  author's  remark  is  only  curLs  ^ 
evincing  the  suddenness  and  rapidity  with  which  literary  talent  has  been 
developed  in  the  United  States.  -  Am.  Hd. 

ani  !lu^''\'Z"'^"^  *'  ''^'  ^^'  ""  ™^^  '^"^'^  ^«  °°^  ^°°"ally  printed 

the  reading  public"  is  larger  in  America,  in  proportion  to  the  population. 

than  in  any  other  country  in  the  world.     This  is  a  consequence  partly  of 

he  jnde    iffnsion  of  education,  which  enables  so  many  to'read  bo'l",  anl 

partly  of  the  general  prosperity  of  the  people,  which  enables  still  mo;e  to 

atf  Jv.  r  "  """'  '°  ""'  '"  "  "*^™'^^'«'^  "^^^  ^''«  "i'P-  ^1--  >  or  in 
favor  with  the  common  people.  _  Am.  Ed. 


■t  I 


404 


DEMOCRACY  IN  ASIERICA. 


does  not  seek  theoretical  discoveries.     Neither  poHtics  nor 
manufactures   direct  them  to  such  speculations;    and  al- 
though new  laws  are  perpetually  enacted  in  the  United 
States,  no  great  writers  there  have  hitherto  inquired  into 
the  general  principles  of  legislation.     The  Americans  have 
lawyers  and  commentators,  but  no  jurists ;  and  they  fur- 
nish examples  rather  than  lessons  to  the  world.     The  same 
observation  apphes  to  the  mechanical  arts.     In  America, 
the  inventions  of  Europe  are  adopted  with  sagacity  ;  they 
ai-e  perfected,  and  adapted  with   admirable   skill   to   the 
wants  of  the  country.     Manufactures  exist,  but  the  science 
of  manufacture   is   not   cultivated;    and  they  have   good 
workmen,  but  very  few  inventors.*     Fulton  was  obliged 
to  proffer  his  services  to  foreign  nations  for  a  long  time, 
before  he  was  able  to  devote  them  to  his  own  country. 

The  observer  who  is  desirous  of  forming  an  opinion  on 
the  state  of  instruction  amongst  the  Anglo-Americans  must 
consider  the  same  object  from  two  different  points  of  view. 
If  he  singles  out  only  the  learned,  he  will  be  astonished  to 
find  how  few  they  are ;  but  if  he  counts  the  ignorant,  the 
American  people  will  appear  to  be  the  most  enlightened  in 
the  world.  The  whole  population,  as  I  observed  in  another 
place,  is  situated  between  these  two  extremes. 

In  New  England,  every  citizen  receives  the  elementary 
notions  of  human  knowledge  ;  he  is  taught,  moreover,  the 
doctrines  and  the  evidences  of  his  religion,  the  history  of 
his  country,  and  the  leading  features  of  its  Constitution. 
In  the  States  of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  it  is  ex- 
tremely rare  to  find  a  man  imperfectly  acquainted  with 
all  these  things,  and  a  person  wholly  ignorant  of  them  is 
a  sort  of  phenomenon. 

*  This  assertion  is  the  very  reverse  of  the  truth.  In  no  country  in  the 
world,  during  the  laat  fifty  years,  has  inventive  industry  been  so  far  devel- 
oped or  so  successful  as  in  America.  Europe  copies  and  adopts  American 
inventions,  but  furnishes  very  few  comparatively  in  return  —Am.  Ed. 


CAUSES   W„,OH  TKND  TO  „A,KTAIK  ^MOCBAOY.       405 

When  I  compare  the  Grept  «„A  r> 
•    these  American   States     the™  """"  ■"''P-l'lics  with 

former,  and  their  ™dl'*,  ?™"'""P'  '"'■^™»  <>f  «he 
journals  and  tie  nSe-d  t  nT'  "f  1  *)"  '"""»"'''•''« 
-comber  al>  the  at^-^Vh  ctU'^at^.^  7\' 
modem  republics  by  the  aid  „f  t ,  T  •  •'""'^  *''* 
infer  what  will  happen  n  our  ti'r  °^  ""."''""y'  ""<•  ^o 
two  thousand  yeaT "^o     "j  '"""  f  "^  ^^  '«»  '"ok  place 

books,  in  orderTappt'„7ne  b^  TTn    '"  '"™  "^ 
a  condition  of  society  "°™'  "'"'^  '"  '^  n»™l 

be^pW  inlfSylo^lIwho^n'  "•"''  ""'  ■'°--- 
towards  the  West  or  th!  q„  ,^  .t  ^""^  =  ''  ^^  '«'™n'^« 

p.^^inishes/L-:r^f;-^^^^^ 
"  "s;:  rarer r;  ei^tr  d"^^  ^--S 

of  a  barbarous  col  iot  f  T  '*'"'''  *•<""  *'"«  ^^^^^ 

ci.fli«.tion7  Zrti:, :  ;1:t  '°™'^'  "-^  "s""  "^ 

them  have  improved  Z'!      1,    !^l   ""''""' '   ^""^  <>f 

their  course,  rl:^rarst:^Utdt™st'u^^^^^^^ 
upon  the  way.  ^^    '         ^^^  ^^^^  sleeping 

Such  has  not  been  the  case  in  *h^  tt  v  j  ^ 
Anglo-Americans,  alrea^   Xd    ,S!'d      ^''T'     ^« 
'ory  which  their  ^cenL^  1  ;f  hTha^'lrf 

ftlrelSrerof^---^^^^^^^ 

their  esteem  for  knSe     Edrr'^'"'"™''''''"  ^-^ 

-ety  has  no  infancy,  but  it  is  boi  i„  mt\  ^tl      ^' 


I      I 


Ml 


406 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


The  Americans  never  use  the  word  "  peasant,"  because 
they  have  no  idea  of  the  class  which  that  terra  denotes  j 
the  ignorance  of  more  remote  ages,  the  simpHcity  of  rural 
life,  and  the  rusticity  of  the  villager,  have  not  been  pre- 
served amongst  them ;  and  they  are  alike  unacquainted 
with  the  virtues,  the  vices,  the  coarse  habits,  and  the  sim- 
ple graces  of  an  early  stage  of  civilization.  At  the  extreme 
borders  of  the  Confederate  States,  upon  the  confines  of 
society  and  the  wilderness,  a  population  of  bold  adventur- 
ers have  taken  up  their  abode,  who  pierce  the  solitudes  of 
the  American  woods,  and  seek  a  country  there,  in  order  to 
escape  the  poverty  which  awaited  them  in  their  native 
home.  As  soon  as  the  pioneer  reaches  the  place  which  is 
to  serve  him  for  a  retreat,  he  fells  a  few  trees  and  builds  a 
log-house.  Nothing  can  offer  a  more  miserable  aspect  than 
these  isolated  dwelHngs.  The  traveller  who  approaches 
one  of  them  towards  nightfall  sees  the  flicker  of  the  hearth- 
flame  through  the  chinks  in  the  walls ;  and  at  night,  if  the 
wind  rises,  he  hears  the  roof  of  boughs  shake  to  and  fro  in 
the  midst  of  the  great  forest-trees.  Who  would  not  sup- 
pose that  this  poor  hut  is  the  asylum  of  rudeness  and  igno- 
rance ?  Yet  no  sort  of  comparison  can  be  drawn  between 
the  pioneer  and  the  dweUing  which  shelters  him.  Every- 
thing about  him  is  primitive  and  wild,  but  he  is  himself  the 
result  of  the  labor  and  experience  of  eighteen  centuries. 
He  wears  the  dress  and  speaks  the  language  of  cities ;  ha 
is  acquainted  with  the  past,  curious  about  the  future,  and 
ready  for  argument  upon  the  present ;  he  is,  in  short,  a 
highly  civihzed  being,  who  consents  for  a  time  to  inhabit 
the  backwoods,  and  who  penetrates  into  the  wilds  of  the 
New  World  with  the  Bible,  an  axe,  and  some  newspapers. 
It  is  difficult  to  imagine  the  incredible  rapidity  with  which 
thought  circulates  in  the  midst  of  these  deserts.*     I  do  not 

*  I  travelled  along  a  portion  of  the  frontier  of  the  United  States  in  a 
sort  of  care,  which  waa  termed  the  mail.     We  passed,  day  and  night,  with 


CAUSES  WHICH  TEND  TO  MAINTALX  DEMOCRACY.       407 

think  that  SO  much  intellectual  activity  exists  in  the  most 
enlightened  and  populous  districts  of  France  * 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that,  in  the  United   States,  the 
mstmction   of  the  people  powerfully  contributes  to   the 
support  of  the  democratic  repubhc  ;  and  such  must  always 
be  the  case,  I  believe,  where  the  instruction  which  en- 
hghtens  the  understanding  is  not  separated  from  the  moral 
education  which  amends  the  heart.    But  I  would  not  exag- 
gerate this  advantage,  and  I  am  still  further  from  thinking 
as  so  many  people  do  think  in  Europe,  that  men  can  be 
ms^^ntaneously  made  citizens  by  teaching  them  to  read  and 
write.     True  mformation  is  mainly  derived  from  experi- 
ence;  and  If  the  Americans  had  not  been  gradually  accus- 
tomed to  govern  themselves,  their  book-learning  would  not 
help  them  much  at  the  present  day. 

I  have  lived  much  with  the  people  in  the  United  States, 
and  I  cannot  express  how  much  I  admire  their  experience 
and  their  good  sense.  An  American  should  never  be  led 
to  speak  of  Europe;  for  he  will  then  probably  display 
great  rapidity,  along  the  roads,  which  were  scarcely  marked  out  through 

^t  From  .  T  "  "'  ''"'  ^'^^  "^  ^"""^^'^  ^-^  'y  'he  ^'^^t  W 
was  a  post^fflce.  The  mail  dropped  an  enormous  bundle  of  letters  at  the 
door  of  th«  isolated  dwelling,  and  we  pursued  our  way  at  full  galLp.  L. 

Jel-'lTV"^^''!!"'  «'^^^ean  paid  23  cents  to  the  post^ffice 

oTj^TSn  ""'  ''"''  ''  ^'°^^  ''  '""^  ^e^--  of  the  French  pos^ 
office.  {8e^  the  Compte  rendu  del'Admmstrationdes  Finances  1833  n  fiQ,t 
Now  the  State  of  Michigan  only  contained  at  that  tir  Inhlt^^^^^^^^^^ 

L'tZo7tLtt''°''^°"'^^-  ^he  instruction  and  the  trX 
Son  whn  T  .  r  "^  '^'""  ''  ''''''  ''  "^°«*  °f  »he  States  in  the 
Umon.  wh,lst  the  D^rte^t  du  Nord,  which  contains  3.400  inhabitant 


••^""■^■""■■■^M 


408 


DEMOCBACY  IN  AMERICA. 


much  presumption  and  very  foolish  pride.     He  will  tako 
up  with  those  crude  and  vague  notions  which  are  so  useful 
to  the  ignorant  all  over  the  world.     But  if  you  question 
him  respecting  his  own  countiy,  the  cloud  which  dimmed 
his   intelligence  will   immediately  disperse;   his  language 
will  become  as  clear  and  precise  as  his  thoughts.     He  will 
inform  you  what  his  rights  are,  and  by  what  means  he 
exercises  them ;  he  will  be  able  to  point  out  the  customs 
which  obtain  in  the  political  world.     You  will  find  that  he 
is  well  acquainted  with  the  rules  of  the  administration,  and 
.that  he  is  familiar  with  the  mechanism  of  the  laws.     The 
citizen  of  the  United  States  does  not  acquire  his  practical 
science  and  his  positive  notions  from  books;    the  instruc- 
tion he  has  acquired  may  have  prepared  him  for  receiving 
those  ideas,  but  it  did  not  furnish  them.     The  American 
learns  to   know  the   laws  by  participating  in  the  act  of 
legislation ;  and  he  takes  a  lesson  in  the  forms  of  govern- 
ment from  governing.     The  great  work  of  society  is  ever 
going  on  before  his  eyes,  and,  as  it  were,  under  his  hands. 
In  the  United  States,  politics  are  the  end  and  aim  of 
education ;  in  Europe,  its  principal  object  is  to  fit  men  for 
private  life.      The  interference  of  the  citizens  in   public 
affairs  is  too  rare  an  occurrence  to  be  provided  for  before- 
hand.     Upon   casting  a  glance  over  society  in  the  two 
hemispheres,  these  differences  are  indicated  even  by  their 
external  aspect. 

In  Europe,  we  frequently  introduce  the  ideas  and  habits 
of  private  Hfe  into  public  affairs ;  and  as  we  pass  at  once 
from  the  domestic  circle  to  the  government  of  the  state, 
we  may  frequently  be  heard  to  discuss  the  great  interests 
of  society  in  the  same  manner  in  which  we  converse  with 
our  friends.  The  Americans,  on  the  other  hand,  transport 
the  habits  of  public  life  into  their  manners  in  private ;  in 
their  country,  the  jury  is  introduced  into  the  games  of 
schoolboys,  and  parliamentary  forms  are  observed  in  the 
order  of  a  feast. 


CAUSES  WHICU   TEND   TO  MAINTAIN  DEMOCRACY.       409 

THE    LAWS    CONTRIBUTE    MORE    To    tmi,    w.x 

THE  DEMOCRATIC  REPUB^C  IN  THE  ^TE^r  "' 
THAN  THE  PHYSICAL  CIRCUMSTANCrop'TrEc  OU^^inY' 
AND   THE   MANNERS   MORE   THAN   THE  LAWS.  ''''^^^' 

AU  the  Nations  of  America  have  a  Democratic  State  of  Society       Y« 
Democratic  Institutions  are  supDorted  onlv  „™  I     .     ^'  ~"    *' 

P«b,c.- Mexico,  which  h.,  aa„p«a  ,he  c„„.«„i„„  JZvI^ 
Z.^  to  n,a.o«,o  ,.  tf,.„  ,h„.,  „,  tt„  E«.  -  Ec„„„  „f  .h^o  w! 

lam  xemwked  that  th».  maintenance  of  democratic 
mutuf  ons  m  the  United  States  is  attributable  tole^r! 
cnmstances,-tE-e  laws,  and  the  manne-      f  t.b.t  1    !  ^ 
Most^tr^ans  .e  acquainted  wr^tyl  t  7^ 
three  causes,  and  they  are  apt  to  mvP  if  o  r.       ""V 
i»po.ance  which  it  Ls  J:  Xv^ir'""'''^'' 
It  13  true  that  the  Anglo-Americans  settled  in  the  New 
World  m  a  state  of  social  equality;  the  low-bom  Id  th 
noble  were  not  to  be  found  amongst  them ;    and  wofe^ 
s«>nal  pre^diees  were  always  as  4known  asTeK" 
dices  of  birth.     Thus,  as  the  condition  of  society  wl 

U„ited\„,  t'  crcumstance  is  not  peculiar  to  the 
United  States  j  almost  all  the  American  colonies  were 
founded  by  men  equal  amongst  themselves,  or  who  LTm! 
so  by  inhabiting  them.  In  no  one  part  of  the  New  Worid 
have  Europeans  been  able  to  create  an  aristocracy     W 

S  «::::"•=  '"^'''"«-  ^-^^  -—but  i„  t.. 

•  I  remind  the  reader  of  the  geaeral  signiflcaUon  which  I  d™  u>  d,. 
w„,^«.-oe.e„,.he™.,  ao.  intCeettta,  char^iror.!' 

18 


mMiI 


410 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


The  American  Union  has  no  enemies  to  contend  with ; 
it  stands  in  the  wilds  like  an  island  in  the  ocean.  But  the 
Spaniards  of  South  Ameriv>rt  were  no  less  isolated  by  na- 
ture; yet  their  position  has  not  relieved  them  from  the 
charge  of  standing  armies.  They  make  war  upon  each 
other  when  they  have  no  foreign  enemies  to  oppose  i  and 
the  Anglo-American  democracy  is  the  only  one  which  has 
hitherto  been  able  to  maintain  itself  in  peace. 

The  territory  of  the  Union  presents  a  boundless  field  to, 
human  activity,  and  inexhaustible  materials  for  labor.  The 
passion  for  wealth  takes  the  place  of  ambition,  and  the  heat 
of  faction  is  mitigated  by  a  consciousness  of  prosperity. 
But  in  what  portion  of  the  globe  shall  we  find  more  fertile 
plains,  mightier  rivers,  or  more  unexplored  and  inexhaust- 
ible riches,  than  in  South  America  ?  Yet  South  America 
has  been  unable  to  maintain  democratic  institutions.  If 
the  welfare  of  nations  depended  on  their  being  placed  in 
a  remote  position,  with  an  unbounded  space  of  habitable 
territory  before  them,  the  Spaniards  of  South  America 
would  have  no  reason  to  complain  of  their  fate.  And 
although  they  might  enjoy  less  prosperity  than  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  United  States,  their  lot  might  still  be  such  as 
to  excite  the  envy  of  some  nations  in  Europe.  There  are, 
howevei^no  nations  upon  the  face^^ilic_fiajlh4noremi£ 
nS5«i5  America. 


al)le_ilia, 

Thus,  not  only  are  physical  causes  inadequate  to  produce 
results  analogous  to  those  which  occur  in  North  America, 
but  they  cannot  raise  the  population  of  South  America 
above  the  level  of  European  states,  wbere  they  act  in  a 
contrary  direction.  Physical  causes  do  not  therefore  affect 
the  destiny  of  nations  so  much  as  has  been  supposed. 

I  have  met  with  men  in  New  England  who  were  on 
the  point  of  leaving  a  country  where  they  might  have  re- 
mained in  easy  cu-cumstances,  to  seek  their  fortune  in  the 
wilds.     Not  far  from  that  region,  I  found  a  French  popu- 


CAUSES  WHICH  TEND  TO  MAINTAIN  DEMOCRACY        4H 

lation  in  Canada,  closely  crowded  on  a  narrow  territory, 
although  the  same  wilds  were  at  hand ;   and  whilst  the 
emigrant  from  the  United  States  purchased  an  extensive 
estate  with   the  earnings  of  a  short  term  of  labor,  the 
Canadian  paid  as  much  for  land  as  he  would  have  done  in 
France.      Thus  Nature  offers  the  solitudes  of  the   New 
World  to  Europeans  also ;  but  they  do  not  always  know 
how  to  make  use  of  her  gifts.     Other  inhabitants  of  Amer- 
ica have  the  same  physical  conditions  of  prosperity  as  the 
Anglo-Americans,  but  without  their  laws  and  their  man- 
ners;  and   these  people  are   miserable.      The   laws  and 
manners  of  the  Anglo-Americans  are  therefore  that  special 
and  predominant  cause  of  their  greatness  which  is  the 
object  of  my  inquiry. 

I  am  far  from  supposing  that  the  American  laws  are  pre 
emmently  good  in  themselves :  I  do  not  hold  them  to  be 
applicable  to  all  democratic  nations;  and  several  of  them 
seem  to  me  to  be  dangerous,  even  in  the  United  States. 
But  It  cannot  be  denied  that  American  legislation,  taken  as 
a  whole,  is  extremely  weU  adapted  to  the  genius  of  the  peo- 
ple and  the  nature  of  the  country  which  it  is  intended  to 
govern.  The  American  laws  are  therefore  good,  and  to 
them  must  be  attributed  a  large  portion  of  the  success 
which  attends  the  government  of  democracy  in  America  : 
but  I  do  not  believe  them  to  be  the  principal  cause  of  that 
success ;  and  if  they  seem  to  me  to  have  more  influence 
than  the  nature  of  the  country  upon  the  social  happiness 
of  the  Americans,  there  is  still  reason  to  believe  that  their 
effect  is  inferior  to  that  produced  by  the  manners  of  the 
people. 

The  Federal  laws  undoubtedly  constitute  the  most  impor- 
tant part  of  the  legislation  of  the  United  States.  Mexico, 
which  is  not  less  fortunately  situated  than  the  Anglo- 
American  Union,  has  adopted  these  same  laws,  but  is  un- 
able to  accustom  itself  to  the  government  of  democracy. 


i  'I 


1,4 


w 


412 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


Some  other  cause  is  therefore  at  work,  independently  of 
physical  circumstances  and  peculiar  laws,  which  enables 
the  democracy  to  rule  in  the  United  States. 

Another  still  more  striking  proof  may  be  adduced.     Al- 
most all  the  inhabitants  of  the  territory  of  the  Union  are 
the  descendants  of  a  common  stock  ;  they  speak  the  same 
language,  they  worship  God  in  the  same  manner,  they  are 
affected  by  the  same  physical  causes,  and  they  obey  the 
same  laws.     Whence,  then,  do  their  characteristic  differ- 
ences arise  ?     Why,  in  the  Eastern  States  of  the  Union, 
does  the  republican  government  display  vigor  and  regular- 
ity, and  proceed  with  mature  deliberation  ?     Whence  does 
it  derive  the  wisdom  and  the  durability  which  mark  its 
acts,  whilst  in  the  Western  States,  on  the  contrary,  society 
seems  to  be  ruled  by  chance  ?     There,  public  business  is 
conducted  with  an  irregularity,  and  a  passionate,  almost 
feverish  excitement,  which   do   not  announce  a  long  or 
sure  duration. 

I  am  no  longer  comparing  the  Anglo-Americans  with 
foreign  nations;  but  I  am  contrasting  them  with  each 
other,  and  endeavoring  to  discover  why  they  are  so  un- 
like. The  arguments  which  are  derived  from  the  nature 
of  the  country  and  the  difference  of  legislation  are  here 
all  set  aside.  Recourse  must  be  had  to  some  other  cause ; 
and  what  other  cause  can  there  be,  except  the  manners  of 
the  people  ? 

It  is  in  the  Eastern  States  that  the  Anglo-Americans 
have  been  longest  accustomed  to  the  government  of  de- 
mocracy, and  have  adopted  the  habits  and  conceived  the 
opinions  most  favorable  to  its  maintenance.  Democracy 
has  gradually  penetrated  into  their  customs,  their  opinions, 
and  their  forms  of  social  intercourse  ;  it  is  to  be  found  in 
all  the  details  of  daily  life,  as  well  as  in  the  laws.  In  the 
Eastern  States,  the  book  instruction  and  practical  education 
of  the  people  have  been  most  perfected,  and  religion  has 


CAUSES   WHICH    TEND   TO   MAINTAIN  DEMOCRACY.       413 

been  most  thoroughly  amalgamated  with  liberty.  Now, 
these  habits,  opinions,  customs,  and  convictions  are  pre- 
cisely what  I  have  denominated  marmers. 

In  the  Western  States,  on  the  contrary,  a  portion  of  the 
same  advantages  are  still  wanting.  Many  of  the  Ameri- 
cans of  the  West  were  bom  in  the  woods,  and  they  mix 
the  ideas  and  customs  of  savage  life  with  the  civilization 
of  their  fathers.  Their  passions  are  more  intense,  their 
religious  morality  less  authoritative,  and  their  convictions 
less  firm.  The  inhabitants  exercise  no  sort  of  control  over 
their  fellows,  for  they  are  scarcely  acquainted  with  each 
other.  The  nations  of  the  West  display,  to  a  certain 
extent,  the  inexperience  and  the  rude  habits  of  a  people 
in  their  infancy;  for,  although  they  are  composed  of  old 
elements,  their  assemblage  is  of  recent  date. 

The  manners  of  the  Americans  of  the  United  States  are, 
then,  the  peculiar  cause  which  renders  that  people  the  only 
one  of  the  American  nations  that  is  able  to  support  a  dem- 
ocratic government;   and  it  is  the  influence  of  manners 
which  produces  the  different  degrees  of  order  and  pros- 
perity that  may  be   distinguished   in  the  several  Anglo- 
American  democracies.     Thus  the  effect  wliich  the  geo- 
graphical position  of  a  country  may  have  upon  the  duration 
of  democratic  institutions  is  exaggerated  in  Europe.     Too 
much  importance  is  attributed  to  legislation,  too  little  to 
manners.     These  three  great  causes  serve,  no   doubt,  to 
regulate  and  direct  the  American  democracy ;  but  if  they 
were  to  be  classed  in  their  proper  order,  I  should  say  that 
physical  circumstances  are  less  efficient  than  the  laws,  and 
the  laws  infinitely  less  so  than  the  manners  of  the  people. 
I  am  convinced  that  the  most  advantageous  situation  and 
the  best  possible  laws  cannot  maintain  a  constitution  in 
spite  of  the  manners  of  a  country ;  whilst  the  latter  may 
turn  to  some  advantage  the  most  unfavorable  positions  and 
the  worst  laws.     The  importance  of  manners  is  a  common 


414 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


truth  to  which  study  and  experience  incessantly  direct  oui 
attention.  It  may  be  regarded  as  a  central  point  in  the 
range  of  observation,  and  the  common  termination  of  all 
my  inquiries.  So  seriously  do  I  insist  upon  this  head,  i;hat, 
if  I  have  hitherto  failed  in  making  the  reader  feel  the  im- 
portant influence  of  the  practical  experience,  the  habits, 
the  opinions,  in  short,  of  the  manners  of  the  Americans, 
upon  the  maintenance  of  their  institutions,  I  liave  failed  in 
the  principal  object  of  my  work. 


WHETHER  LAWS  AND  MANNERS  ARE  SUFFICIENT  TO  MAIN- 
TAIN DEMOCRATIC  INSTITUTIONS  IN  OTHER  COUNTRIES 
BESIDES    AMERICA. 


The  Ang'o- Americans,  if  transported  into  Europe,  would  be  obliged  to 
modify  their  Laws.  —  Distinction  to  be  mads  between  Democratic  In- 
stitutions and  American  Institutions.  —  Democratic  Laws  may  be  con- 
ceived better  than,  or  at  least  different  from,  those  which  the  American 
Democracy  has  adopted.  —  The  Example  of  America,  only  proves  that 
it  is  possible,  by  the  Aid  of  Manners  and  Legislatior,,  to  regulate  De- 
mocracy. 

I  HAT^  asserted  that  the  success  of  democratic  institu- 
tions in  the  United  States  is  more  attributable  to  the  laws 
themselves,  and  the  manners  of  the  people,  than  to  the 
nature  of  the  country.  But  does  it  follow  that  the  same 
causes  would  of  themseVes  produce  the  same  results,  if 
they  were  put  in  operation  elsewhere ;  and  if  the  country 
is  no  adequate  substitute  for  laws  and  manners,  can  laws 
and  manners  in  their  turn  take  the  place  of  a  country  ?  It 
will  readily  be  understood  that  ihe  elements  of  a  reply  to 
this  question  are  wanting:  other  inhabitants  are  to  be 
found  in  the  New  World  besides  the  Anglo-Americans, 
and,  as  these  are  affected  by  the  same  physical  circumstan<» 
ces  as  the  latter,  they  may  fairly  be  compared  with  them. 


CAUSES   WHICH  TEHD   TO  MAINTA.IN  DEMOCRACY.       415 

But  there  are  no  nations  out  of  America  which  have 
adopted  the  same  laws  and  manners,  though  destitute  of 
the  physical  advantages  peculiar  to  the  Anglo-Am e/.^ons. 
No  standard  of  comparison  therefore  exists,  and  we  can 
only  hazard  an  opinion. 

It  appears  to  me,  in  the  first  place,  that  a  careful  distinc- 
tion must  be  made  between  the  institutions  of  the  United 
States  and  democratic  institutions  in  general.  When  I 
reflect  upon  the  state  of  Europe,  its  mighty  nations,  its 
populous  cities,  its  formidable  armies,  and  the  complex 
nature  of  its  politics,  I  cannot  suppose  that  even  the  Anglo- 
Americans,  if  they  were  transported  to  our  hemisphere, 
with  their  ideas,  then*  religion,  and  their  manners,  could 
exist  without  considerably  altering  their  laws.  But  a"^ 
democratic  nation  may  be  imagined,  organized  differently 
from  the  American  people.  Is  it  then  impossible  to  con- 
ceive^^jgoveri^^^^^Igl^ra  the 

majority,  but  in  which  the  majori^  its  natural 

instinct  of  equality,  should  consenlt,  with  a  \-iew  to  the  order  ^ 
and  the  stability  of  the  state,  to  invpst"  a  feniilj  nr  >^ti  indi- 
^ddimbdtlkd.L  the  attributes  p  power  ?     Might 

not  a  democratic  society  be  imagined,  in  which  the  forces 
of  the  nation  would  be  more  centralized  than  they  are  in 
the  United  States ;  where  the  people  would  exercise  a  less 
direct  and  less  irresistible  influence  upon  public  affairs,  and 
yet  every  citizen,  invested  with  certain  rights,  would  par- 
ticipate, within  his  sphert,  in  the  conduct  of  the  govern- 
ment ?  What  I  have  seen  amongst  the  Anglo-Americans 
induces  me  "to~^15eIie"ve~tKat  "democratic  institutions  of  this 
km^TpMently  introduwd  into  society,  so  as  gradually  to 
rnGSSE^  the  habits,  and  to  be  intarfused  with  the  opin- 
ions o£„the  people,  might  exist  in  other  countries  besides 
America.  If  the  laws  of  the  United  States  were  the  only 
imaginable  democratic  laws,  or  the  most  perfect  which  it 
is  possible  to  conceive,  I  should  admit  that  their  success 


w 


^ 


/ 


416 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


in  America  affords  no  proof  of  the  success  of  democratic 
institutions  in  general,  in  a  country  less  favored  by  nature. 
Bu.  's  the  laws  of  America  appear  to  me  to  be  defective 
in  several  respects,  and  as  1  can  readily  imagine  others 
the  peculiar  advantages  of  that  country  do  not  prove  to 
me  that  democratic  institutions  cannot  succeed  in  a  na- 
tion less  favored  by  circumstances,  if  ruled  by  better 
laws. 

If  human  nature  were  different  in  America  from  what 
it  is  elsewhere,  or  if  the  social  condition  of  the  Americans 
created  habits  and  opinions  amongst  them  different  from 
those  which  originate  in  the  same  social  condition  in  the 
Old  World,  the  American  democracies  would  afford  no 
means  of  predicting  what  may  occur  in  other  democracies. 
If  the  Americans  displayed  the  same  propensities  as  all 
other  democratic  nations,  and  if  their  legislators  had  relied 
upon  the  nature  of  the  country  and  the  favor  of  circum- 
stances to  restrain  those  propensities  within  due  limits,  the 
prosperity  of  the  United  States,  being  attributable  to  purely 
physical  causes,  would  afford  no  encouragement  to  a  peo- 
ple inclined  to  imitate  their  example,  without  sharing  their 
natural  advantages.  But  neither  of  these  suppositions  is 
borne  out  by  facts. 

In  America,  the  same  passions  are  to  be  met  with  as 
in  Europe,  —  some  originating  in  human  nature,  others  in 
the  democratic  condition  of  society.  Thus,  in  the  United 
States,  I  found  that  restlessness  of  heart  which  is  natural 
to  men  when  all  ranks  are  nearly  equal,  and  the  chances 
of  elevation  are  the  same  to  all.  I  fouYid  there  the  demo- 
cratic feeling  of  envy  expressed  under  a  thousand  different 
forms.  I  remr^ked  that  the  people  there  frequently  dis- 
played, in  the  conduct  of  affairs,  a  mixture  of  ignorance 
and  presumption  ;  and  I  inferred  that,  in  America,  men 
are  liable  to  the  same  failings  and  exposed  to  the  same 
evils  as  amongst  ourselves.     But,  upon  examining  the  state 


CAUSES   WHICH   TEND   TO  MAINTAIN  DEMOCRACY.       417 

Of  society  more  attentively,  I  speedily  discovered  that  the 
Americans  had  made  great  and  successful  efforts  to  coun- 
teract these  imperfections  of  human  nature,  and  to  correct 
he  natural  defects  of  democracy.     Their  divers  l^Z^^ 
laws  appeared  to  nie  so  many  means  of  restraining  the  rest- 
less ambmon  of  the  citizens  within  a  narrow  sphere,  and 
of  turning  those  same  passions  which  might  have  worked 
havoc  m  the  state,  to  the  good  of  the  township  or  the 
pansh.     The  American  legislators  seem  to  have  succeeded 
to  some  extent  m  opposing  the  idea  of  right  to  the  feelings 
of  envy ;  the  permanence  of  religious  morality  to  the  con- 
tinual sbftmg  of  pontics;  the  experience  of  The  people" 
their  theoretical  Ignorance;  and  their  practical  knowledge 
of  busmess  to  the  impatience  of  their  desires.  ^ 

The  Americans,  then,  have  not  rehed  upon  the  nature 
of  their  countiy  to  counterpoise  those  dangers  which  origi- 
nate m  their  Constitution  and  their  political  laws.     To 
evils  which  are  common  to  all  democratic  nations,  they 
have  applied  remedies  which  none  but  themselves  had  ever 
thought  of;  and,  although  they  were  the  first  to  make  the 
experunent,  they  have  succeeded  in  it.     The  manners  and 
laws  of  the  Americans  are  not  the  only  ones  which  may 
suit  a  democratic  people ;  but  the  Americans  have  shown 
that  It  would  be  wrong  to  despair  of  regulating  democracy 
by  the  aid  of  manners  and  laws.     If  other  nations  should 
borrow  this  general  and  pregnant  idea  from  the  Ameri- 
cans   without,  however,  intending  to  imitate  them  in  the 
peculiar  application  which  they  have  made  of  it;  if  they 
should  attempt  to  fit  themselves  for  that  social  condition 
which  It  seems  to  be  the  will  of  Providence  to  impose 
upon  the  generations  of  this  age,  and  so  to  escape  from 
the   despotism   or  the  anarchy  which  threatens  them,- 
what  reason  is  there  to  suppose  that  their  efibrts  would 
not  be  crowned  with  success  ?     The  organization  and  the 
establishment  of  democracy  in  Christendom  is  the  great 


418 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


w^f  maa^i^  1 


political  problem  of  our  times.  The  Americans,  unques- 
tionably, have  not  resolved  this  problem,  but  they  furnish 
useful  data  to  those  who  undertake  to  resolve  it. 


IMPORTANOE   OF   WHAT   PRECEDES   WITH   BESFECrr   TO  THE 

STATE   OF   EUROPE. 

It  may  readily  be  discovered  with  what  intention  I 
undertook  the  foregoing  inquiries;  The  question  here  dis- 
cussed is  interesting  not  only  to  the  United  States,  but  to 
the  whole  world ;  it  concerns,  not  a  nation  only,  but  all 
mankind.  If  those  nations  whose  social  condition  is  demo- 
cratic could  remain  free  only  while  they  inhabit  uncultivated 
regions,  we  must  despair  of  the  fixture  destiny  of  the  human 
race  ;  for  democracy  is  rapidly  acquiring  a  more  extended 
sway,  and  the  wilds  are  gradually  peopled  with  men.  If 
it  were  true  that  laws  and  manners  are  insufHcient  to  main- 
tain democratic  institutions,  what  refuge  would  remain  open 
to  the  nations,  except  the  despotism  of  one  man  ?  I  am 
aware  that  there  are  many  worthy  persons  at  the  present 
time  who  are  not  alarmed  at  tliis  alternative,  and  who  are 
so  tired  of  liberty  as  to  be  glad  of  repose  far  from  its 
storms.  But  these  persons  are  ill  acquainted  with  the 
haven  towards  which  they  are  bound.  Preoccupied  by 
their  remembrances,  they  judge  of  absolute  power  by  what 
it  has  been,  and  not  by  what  it  might  become  in  our  times. 

If  absolute  power  were  re-established  amongst  the  demo- 
cratic nations  of  Europe,  I  am  persuaded  that  it  would  as- 
sume a  n(?w  form,  and  appear  under  features  unknown  to 
our  fathers.  There  was  a  time  in  Europe  when  tlie  laws 
and  the  consent  of  the  people  had  invested  princes  with 
almost  unlimited  authority,  but  they  scarcely  ever  availed 
themselves  of  it.  I  do  not  speak  of  the  prerogatives  of 
the  nobility,  of  the  authority  of  high  courts  of  justice,  of 


CAUSES  WHICH   TEND   TO  MAINTAIN  DEMOCRACY.       419 

cori)orations  and  their  chartered  rights,  or  of  provincial 
privileges,  which  served  to  break  the  blows  of  sovereign 
authority,  and  to  keep  up  a  spirit  of  resistance  in  the  na- 
tion.    Independently  of  these  political  institutions,— which, 
however  opposed  they  might  be  to  personal  hberty,  served 
to  keep  alive  the  love  of  freedom  in  the  mind,  and  which 
may  be  esteemed  useful  in  this  respect,  -  the  manners  and 
opimons  of  the  nation  confined  the  royal  authority  within 
barriers  which  were  not  less  powerf-ul  because  less  conspic 
uous.     Religion,  the  affections  of  the  people,  the  benevo- 
fence   of  the   prince,   the   sense   of  honor,   family   pride, 
provincial  prejudices,  custom,  and  public  opinion  limited 
the  power  of  kings,  and  restrained  their  authority  within 
an  invisible  circle.     The  constitution  of  nations  was  des- 
potic at  that  time,  but  their  manners  were  free.     Princes 
had  the  right,  but  they  had  neither  the  means  nor  the  de- 
sire,  of  doing  whatever  they  pleased. 

But  what  now  remains  of  those  barriers  which  formerly 
arrested  tyranny  ?     Since  religion  has  lost  its  empire  over 
the  souls  of  men,  the  most  prominent  boundary  which 
divided  good  from  evil  is  overthrown;  eveiything  seems 
doubtful  and  indeterminate  in  the  moral  world  ;  kings  and 
nations  are  guided  by  chance,  and  none  can  say  where  are 
the  natural  limits  of  despotism  and  the  bounds  of  license 
Long  revolutions  have  forever  destroyed  the  respect  which 
surrounded  the  rulers  of  the  state;  and,  since  they  have 
been  reheved  from  the  burden  of  pubhc  esteem,  princes 
may  henceforward  surrender  themselves  without  fear  to 
tiie  intoxication  of  arbitrary  power. 

When  kings  find  that  the  hearts  of  their  subjects  are 
turned  towards  them,  they  are  clement,  because  they  are 
conscious  of  their  strength  ;  and  they  are  chary  of  the 
aiiection  of  their  people,  because  the  affection  of  their 
people  is  the  bulwark  of  the  thvone.  A  mutual  inter- 
change  of  good-will  then  takes  ,•     v,  between  the  prince 


■-'if!     ;        li..       I        i 


J      ' 


420 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


and  the  people,  which  resembles  the  gracious  intercourse 
of  domestic  life.  The  subjects  may  murmur  at  the  sover- 
eign's decree,  but  they  are  grieved  to  displease  him ;  and 
the  sovereign  chastises  his  subjects  with  the  light  hand  of 
parental  aifection. 

But  when  once  the  spell  of  royalty  is  broken  in  the 
tumult  of  revolution,  —  when  successive  monarchs  have 
crossed  the  throne,  so  as  alternately  to  display  to  the  peo- 
ple the  weakness  of  their  right,  and  the  harshness  of  their 
power,  —  the  sovereign  is  no  longer  regarded  by  any  as  the 
father  of  the  state,  and  he  is  feared  by  all  as  its  master.  If 
he  is  weak,  he  is  despised ;  if  he  is  strong,  he  is  detested. 
He  is  himself  ftdl  of  animosity  and  alarm ;  he  finds  that 
he  is  a  stranger  in  his  own  country,  and  he  treats  his  sub- 
jects like  conquered  enemies. 

When  the  provinces  and  the  towns  formed  so  many  dif- 
ferent nations  in  the  midst  of  their  common  country,  each 
of  them  had  a  will  of  its  own,  which  was  opposed  to  the 
general  spirit  of  subjection  ;  but,  now  that  all  the  parts  of 
the  same  empire,  after  having  lost  their  immunities,  their 
customs,  their  prejudices,  their  traditions,  and  even  their 
names,  have  become  accustomed  to  obey  the  same  laws,  it 
is  not  more  difficult  to  oppress  them  all  together  than  it 
was  formerly  to  oppress  one  of  them  separately. 

Whilst  the  nobles  enjoyed  their  power,  and  indeed  long 
after  that  power  was  lost,  the  honor  of  aristocracy  con- 
ferred an  extraordinary  degree  of  force  upon  their  personal 
opposition.  Men  could  then  be  found  who,  notwithstand- 
ing their  weakness,  still  entertained  a  high  opinion  of  their 
personal  value,  and  dared  to  cope  single-handed  with  the 
public  authority.  But  at  the  present  day,  when  all  ranks 
are  more  and  more  confounded,  —  when  the  individual  dis- 
appears in  the  throng,  and  is  easily  lost  in  the  midst  of 
a  common  obscurity,  when  the  honor  of  monarchy  has 
almost  lost  its  power,  without  being  succeeded  by  virtue. 


CAUSES   WHICH   TEND   TO  MAINTAIN  DEMOCRACY.       421 

and  when  nothing  can  enable  man  to  rise  above  himself,  - 
who  shdl  say  at  what  point  the  exigencies  of  power  and 
the  servility  of  weakness  will  stop  ? 

As  long  as  family  feeling  was  kept  alive,  the  antagonist 
of  oppression  was  never  alone ;  he  looked  about  him,  and 
found  his  clients,  his  hereditary  friends,  and  his  kinsfolk. 
If  this  support  was  wanting,  he  felt  hmiself  sustained  by 
his  ancestors,  and  animated  by  his  posterity.     But  when 
patrimonial  estates  are  divided,  and  when  a  few  years  suf- 
fice  to  confound  the  distinctions  of  race,  where  can  family 
feeling  be  found  ?     What  force  can  there  be  in  the  custom^ 
of  a  country  which  has  changed,  and  is  stHl  perpetuaUy 
changing,  its  aspect,  -in  which  every  act  of  tyranny  al- 
ready  has  a  precedent,  and  every  crime  an  example, -in 
which  there  is  nothing  so  old  that  its  antiquity  can  save  it 
from  destruction,  and  nothing  so  unparalleled  that  its  nov- 
elty can  prevent  it  from  being  done?     What  resistance 
can  be  offered  by  manners  of  so  pHant  a  make  that  they 
have  ah-eady  often  yielded  ?      What  strength   can   even 
pubhc  opinion  have  retained,  when  no  twenty  persons  are 
connected  by  a  common  tie, -when  not  a  man,  nor  a 
family,  nor  chartered  corporation,  nor  class,  nor  free  insti- 
tution, has  the  power  of  representing  or  exerting  that  opm- 
ion,-and  when  every  citizen,  being  equally  weak,  equaUy 
poor,  and  equaUy  isolated,  has  only  his  personal  impotence 
to  oppose  to  the  organized  force  of  the  government? 

The  annals  of  France  furnish  nothing  analogous  to  the 
condition  m  which  that  countiy  might  then  be  thrown 
But  It  may  more  aptly  be  assimilated  to  the  times  of  old 
and  to  those  hideous  eras  of  Roman  oppression,  when  the 
nianners  of  the  people  were  corrupted,  their  traditions 
obliterated,  their  habits  destroyed,  their  opinions  shaken, 
and  freedom,  expelled  from  the  laws,  could  find  no  refuse 
m  the  land ;  when  nothing  protected  the  citizens,  and  the 
citizens   no   longer   protected    themselves;   when   human 


&"•' 


422 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


i 


natm'e  was  the  sport  of  man,  and  princes  weai'ied  out  the 
clemency  of  Heaven  before  they  exhausted  the  patience 
of  their  subjects.  Those  who  hope  to  revive  the  mon- 
archy of  Henry  IV.  or  of  Louis  XIV.  appear  to  me  to 
be  afflicted  with  mental  blindness  ;  and  when  I  consider 
the  present  condition  of  several  European  nations,  —  a 
condition  to  which  all  the  others  tend,  —  I  am  led  to  be- 
lieve that  they  will  soon  be  left  with  no  other  alternative 
than  democratic  liberty  or  the  tyranny  of  the  Caesars. 

Is  not  this  deserving  of  consideration  ?  If  men  must 
really  come  to  this  point,  that  they  are  to  be  entirely 
emancipated  or  entirely  enslaved,  —  all  their  rights  to  be 
made  equal,  or  all  to  be  taken  away  from  them ;  if  the 
rulers  of  society  were  compelled  either  gradually  to  raise 
the  crowd  to  their  own  level,  or  to  allow  all  the  citizens 
to  fall  below  that  of  humanity,  —  would  not  the  doubts 
of  many  be  resolved,  the  consciences  of  many  be  con- 
firmed, and  the  community  prepared  to  make  great  sac- 
rifices with  little  difficulty?  In  that  case,  the  gradual 
growth  of  democratic  manners  and  institutions  should  be 
regarded,  not  as  the  best,  but  as  the  only  means  of  pre- 
serving freedom ;  and,  without  liking  the  government  of 
democracy,  it  might  be  adopted  as  the  most  applicable, 
and  the  fairest  remedy  for  the  present  ills  of  society. 

It  is  difficult  to  make  the  people  participate  in  the  gov- 
ernment ;  but  it  is  still  more  difficult  to  supply  them  with 
experience,  and  to  inspire  them  with  the  feelings  which 
they  need  in  order  to  govern  well.  I  grant  that  the 
wishes  of  the  democracy  are  capricious,  its  instruments 
rude,  its  laws  imperfect.  But,  if  it  were  true  that  soon 
no  just  medium  would  exist  between  the  rule  of  democ- 
racy and  the  dominion  of  a  single  man,  should  we  not 
rather  incline  towards  the  former,  than  submit  voluntarily 
to  the  latter  ?  And  if  complete  equality  be  our  fate,  is 
it  not  better  to  be  levelled  by  free  institutions  than  by  a 
despot  ? 


CAUSKS  WmCH  TEND   TO  MAINTAIN  DEMOCRACY.       423 

Those  who,  after  having  read  this  book,  should  imagine 
that  my  intention  in  writing  it  was  to  propose  the  laws 
and  manners  of  the  Anglo-Americans  for  the  imitation  of 
all  democratic  communities,  would  make  a  great  mistake  ; 
they  must  have  paid  more  attention  to  the  form  than  to 
the  substance  of  my  thought.     My  aim  has  been  to  show, 
by  the  example  of  America,  that  laws,  and  especially  man- 
ners, may  allow  a  democratic  people  to  remain  free.     But 
I  am  very  far  from  thinking  that  we  ought  to  follow  the 
example  of  the  American  democracy,  and  copy  the  means 
which  it  has  employed  to  attain  this  end ;  for  I  am  well 
aware  of  the  influence  which  the  nature  of  a  country  and 
its  political  antecedents  exercise  upon  its  poUtical  consti- 
tution ;  and  I  should  regard  it  as  a  great  misfortune  for 
mankind  if  liberty  were  to  exist  all  over  the  world  under 
the  same  features. 

But  I  am  of  opinion  that,  if  we  do  not  succeed  in  gradu- 
ally introducing  democratic  institutions  into  France ;  if  we 
despair  of  imparting  to  all  the  citizens  those  ideas  and  sen- 
timents which  first  prepare  them  for  freedom,  and  after- 
wards allow  them  to  enjoy  it,  —  there  will  be  no  indepen- 
dence at  all,  either  for  the  middling  classes  or  the  nobility, 
for  the  poor  or  for  the  rich,  but  an  equal  tyranny  over 
all ;  and  I  foresee  that,  if  the  peaceable  dominion  of  the 
majority  be  not  founded  amongst  us  in  time,  we  shall 
sooner  or  later  fall  under  the  unlimited  authority  nf  a 
single  man. 


I 


I    I 


424 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA- 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


mi 


THE  PRESENT  AND  PROBABLE  FUTURE  CONDITION  OF  THE 
THREE  RACES  WHICH  INHABIT  THE  TERRITORY  OF  THE 
UNITED    STATES. 


THE  principal  task  which  I  had  imposed  upon  myself 
is  now  performed :  I  have  shown,  as  far  as  I  was  able, 
the  laws  and  the  manners  of  the  American  democracy. 
Here  I  might  stop  ;  but  the  reader  would  perhaps  feel  that 
I  had  not  satisfied  his  expectations. 

An  absolute  and  immense  democracy  is  not  all  that  we 
find  in  America ;  the  inhabitants  of  the  New  World  may 
be  considered  from  more  than  one  point  of  view.     In  the 
course  of  this  work,  my  subject  has  often  led  me  to  speak 
of  the  Indians  and  the  Negroes ;  but  I  have  never  had  time 
to  stop  in  order  to  show  what  place  these  two  races  occupy 
in  the  midst  of  the  democratic  people  whom  I  was  engao-ed 
in  describing.     I  have  shown  in  what  spirit  and  according 
to  what  laws  the  Anglo-American  Union  was  formed ;  but 
I  could  give  only  a  hurried  and  imperfect  glance  at  the 
dangers  which  menace  that  confederation,  and  could  not 
furnish  a  detailed  account  of  its  chances  of  duration  in- 
dependently of  its   laws  and  manners.      When   speaking 
of  the  united  republics,  I  hazarded  no  conjectures  upon 
the  permanence  of  republican  forms  in  the  New  World ; 
and  when   making   frequent  allusion   to   the   commercial 
activity  which  reigns  in  the  Union,  I  was  unable  to  in- 
quire into  the  future  of  the  Americans  as  a  commercial 
people. 


THE  THBKE  KACES  IN   THE  UNITED  STATES.  425 

These  topics  arc  collaterally  connected  with  my  snbicct 
without  forming  a  part  of  it;  they  are  American,  without 
being  democratic ;  and  to  portray  democracy  has  been  my 
pnncpal  aim.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to  postpone 
these  questions,  which  I  now  take  up  as  the  proper  termi- 
nation  of  my  work.  ^ 

The  territory  now  occupied  or  claimed  by  the  American 
Umon  spreads  from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  to  those  of 

those  of  the  contment  itself.  On  the  south,  it  advances 
nearly  to  the  Tropics,  and  it  extends  upward  to  the  icy 
regions  of  the  North.  ^ 

The  human  beings  who  are  scattered  over  this  space  do 

„T\  "^u^'  '"  ^"'^P''  '"^  "^^"^  ^^«h^«  «f  the  same 
8  ock  Three  races,  naturally  distinct,  and,  I  might  almost 
say,  hostile  to  each  other,  are  discoverable  amongst  them  at 
the  first  glance.  Almost  insurmountable  barriers  had  been 
raised  between  them  by  education  and  law,  as  well  as  by 
their  on^n  and  outward  characteristics;  but  fortune  h^ 
brought  them  together  on  the  same  soil,  where,  although 
they  are  mixed,  they  do  not  amalgamate,  and  each  i^ce 
tumis  its  destiny  apart. 

Amongst  these  widely  differing  famihes  of  men,  the  first 
which  attract  attention -- the  superior  in  intelligence,  in 
power,  and  m  enjoyment -is  the  White,  or  European,  the 
MAN  preeminently  so  called ;  below  him  appear  the  Negro 
and  the  Indian.  These  two  unhappy  races  have  nothing 
m  common  neither  birth,  nor  features,  nor  language,  no? 
habits.  Their  only  resemblance  lies  in  their  misfortunes, 
iioth  of  them  occupy  an  equally  inferior  position  in  the 
country  they  inhabit;  both  suffer  from  tyranny;  and  if 
their  wrongs  are  not  the  same,  they  originate  from  the 
same  authors. 

If  we  reasoned  from  what  passes  in  the  world,  we  should 


If,,  , 


iHSi 


I  M 


420 


DKMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA 


almost  say  tliat  the  European  is  to  the  other  races  of  man 
kind  what  man  himself  is  to  the  lower  animals :  he  makes 
them  subservient  to  his  use,  and  when  he  cannot  subdue, 
he  destroys  them.  Oppression  has,  at  one  stroke,  deprived 
the  descendants  of  the  Africans  of  almost  all  the  privileges 
of  humanity.  The  Negro  of  the  United  States  has  lost 
even  the  remembrance  of  his  country ;  the  language  whicli 
his  forefathers  spoke  is  never  heard  around  him ;  he  ab- 
jured their  religion  and  forgot  their  customs  when  he 
ceased  to  belong  to  Africa,  without  acquiring  any  claim 
to  European  privileges.  But  he  remains  half-way  between 
the  two  communities,  isolated  between  two  races ;  sold  by 
the  one,  repulsed  by  the  other ;  finding  not  a  spot  in  the 
universe  to  call  by  the  name  of  country,  except  the  faint 
image  of  a  home  which  the  shelter  of  his  master's  roof 
affords. 

The  Negro  has  no  family:  woman  is  merely  the  tem- 
porary companion  of  his  pleasures,  and  his  children  are  on 
an  equality  with  himself  from  the  moment  of  their  birth. 
Am  I  to  call  it  a  proof  of  God's  mercy,  or  a  visitation  of 
his  wrath,  that  man,  in  certain  states,  appears  to  be  insen- 
sible to  his  extreme  wretchedness,  and  almost  obtains  a 
depraved  taste  for  the  cause  of  his  misfortunes  ?  The 
Negi'o,  plunged  in  this  abyss  of  evils,  scarcely  feels  his 
own  calamitous  situation.  Violence  made  him  a  slave, 
and  the  habit  of  servitude  gives  him  the  thoughts  and 
desires  of  a  slave ;  he  admires  his  tyrants  more  than  he 
hates  them,  and  finds  his  joy  and  his  pride  in  the  servile 
imitation  of  those  who  oppress  him.  His  understanding 
is  degraded  to  the  level  of  his  soul. 

The  Negro  enters  upon  slavery  as  soon  as  he  is  bom ; 
nay,  he  may  have  been  purchased  in  the  womb,  and  Iiave 
begun  his  slavery  before  he  began  his  existence.  Equally 
devoid  of  wants  und  of  enjoyment,  and  useless  to  himself, 
he  learns,  mth  his  first  notions  of  existence,  that  he  is  the 


l.:(- 


THE   THREE   RACES   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.  427 

property  of  another,  who  has  an  interest  ui  preserving  his 
life,  and  that  the  care  of  it  does  not  devolve  upon  himself; 
even  the  power  of  thought  appears  to  him  a  useless  gift 
of  Providence,  and  he  quietly  enjoys  all  the  privileges  of 
his  debasement. 

If  he  becomes  free,  independence  is  often  felt  by  him 
to  be  a  heavier  burden  than  slavery ;  for,  having  learned, 
in  the  course  of  his  life,  to  submit  to  everything  except 
reason,  he  is  too  unacquainted  with  her  dictates  to  obey 
them.  A  thousand  new  desires  beset  him,  and  he  has  not 
th  '  knowledge  and  energy  necessary  to  resist  them :  these 
a.ro  masters  wliich  it  is  necessary  to  contend  with,  and  he 
has  learnt  only  to  submit  and  obey.  In  short,  he  is  sunk 
to  such  a  depth  of  wretchedness,  that,  while  servitude  bru- 
talizes, liberty  destroys  him. 

Oppression  has  been  no  less  fatal  to  the  Indian  than 
to  the  Negro  race,  but  its  effects  are  different.  Before 
the  arrival  of  white  men  in  the  New  World,  the  inhab- 
itants of  North  America  lived  quietly  in  their  woods,  en- 
during the  vicissitudes  and  practising  the  virtues  and  vices 
common  to  savage  nations.  The  Europeans,  having  dis- 
persed the  Indian  tribes  and  driven  them  into  the  deserts, 
condemned  them  to  a  wandering  life,  full  of  inexpressible 
sufferinjis. 

Savage  nations  are  only  controlled  by  opinion  and  cus- 
tom. When  the  North  American  Indians  had  lost  the 
sentiment  of  attachment  to  their  country ;  when  their  fami- 
lies were  dispersed,  their  traditions  obscured,  and  the  chain 
of  their  recollections  broken  ;  when  all  their  habits  were 
clianged,  and  their  wants  increased  beyond  measure,— 
European  tyranny  rendered  them  more  disorderly  and 
less  civilized  than  they  were  before.  The  moral  and 
physical  condition  of  these  tribes  continually  grew  worse, 
and  they  became  more  barbarous  as  they  became  more 
wretched.     Nevertheless,  the   Europeans  have  not  been 


428 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


able  to  change  the  character  of  the  Indians ;  and,  though 
they  have  had  power  to  destroy,  they  have  never  been 
able  to  subdue  and  civilize  them. 

The  lot  of  the  Negro  is  placed  on  the  extreme  limit 
of  servitude,  while  that  of  the  Indian  lies  on  the  utter- 
most verge  of  liberty ;  ^nd  slavery  does  not  produce  more 
fatal  effects  upon  thf;  first,  than  independence  upon  the 
second.  The  Negro  has  lost  all  property  in  his  own 
person,  and  he  caimot  dispose  of  his  existence  without 
committing  a  sort  of  fr^ud.  But  the  savage  is  his  own 
master  as  soon  as  he  is  able  to  act ;  parental  authority 
is  scarcely  known  to  him ;  he  has  never  bent  his  will  to 
that  of  any  of  his  kind,  no^  learned  the  difference  between 
voluntary  obedience  and  a  shameful  subjection;  and  the 
very  name  of  law  is  unknown  to  him.  To  be  free,  with 
him,  signifies  to  escape  fi'om  all  the  shackles  of  society. 
As  he  delights  in  this  barbarous  independence,  and  would 
rather  perish  than  sacrifice  the  least  part  of  it,  civilization 
has  little  hold  over  him. 

The  Negro  makes  a  thousand  fruitless  efforts  to  insinuate 
himself  amongst  men  who  repulse  him ;  he  conforms  to  the 
tastes  of  his  oppressors,  adopts  their  opinions,  and  hopes  by 
imitating  them  to  form  a  part  of  theu*  community.  Hav- 
ing been  told  from  infancy  that  his  race  is  naturally  inferior 
to  that  of  the  whites,  he  assents  to  the  proposition,  and  is 
ashamed  of  his  own  nature.  In  each  of  his  features  he 
discovers  a  trace  of  slavery,  and,  if  it  were  in  his  power, 
he  would  willingly  rid  himself  of  everything  that  makes 
him  what  he  is. 

The  Indian,  on  the  contrary,  has  his  imagination  inflated 
with  the  pretended  nobility  of  his  origin,  and  lives  and  dies 
in  the  midst  of  these  dreams  of  pride.  Far  from  desiring 
to  conform  his  habits  to  ours,  he  loves  his  savage  life  as  the 
distinguishing  mark  of  his  race,  and  repels  every  advance 
to  civilization,  less,  perhaps,  from  hatred  of  it,  than  from 


THE   THREE   RACES   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES.  429 

a  dread  of  resembling  the  Europeans.*  While  he  haa 
nothing  to  oppose  to  our  perfection  in  the  arts  but  the 
resources  of  the  desert,  to  our  tactics  nothing  but  undisci- 
plined courage, -whilst  our  well-digested  plans  are  met 
only  by  the  spontaneous  instincts  of  savage  life,  — who 
can  wonder  if  he  fails  in  this  unequal  contest  ? 

The  Negro,  who  earnestly  desires  to  mingle  his  race 
with  that  of  the  European,  cannot  do  so ;  while  the  In- 
dian, who  might  succeed  to  a  certain  extent,  disdain-  to 
make  the  attempt.  The  servility  of  the  one  dooms  him 
to  slavery,  the  pride  of  the  other  to  death. 

I  remember  that,  while  I  was  travelling  through  the 
forests  which  stOl  cover  the  State  of  Alabama,  I  arrived 

*  The  native  of  No  .n  America  retains  his  opinions  and  the  most  insig- 
mficant  of  his  habitr  with  a  degree  of  tenacity  which  has  no  paraUel  in 
history.     For  mor.  than  two  hmidred  years,  the  wandering  tribes  of  North 
America  hare  had  daily  intercourse  with  the  whites,  and  they  have  never 
derived  from  them  a  custom  or  an  idea.     Yet  the  Europeans  have  exercised 
a  powerful  mfluence  over  the  savages :  they  have  made  them  more  licen- 
tious but  not  more  European.     In  the  summer  of  1831,  I  happened  to  be 
beyond  Lake  Michigan,  at  a  place  caUed  Green-Bay,  which  serves  as  the 
extreme  frontier  between  the  United  States  and  the  Indians  of  the  North- 
west.     Here  1  became  acquainted  with  an  American  officer,  Major  H.   who 
after  talking  to  me  at  length  about  the  inflexibility  of  the  Indian  character! 
elated  the  following  fact:    ^a  formerly  knew  a  young  Indian,"  said  he 
who  had  been  educated  at  a  college  in  New  England,  where  he  had  greatl^ 
distinguished  himself,  and  had  acquired  the  external  appearance  of  a  civU- 
ized  man.     When  the  war  broke  out  between  ourselves  and  the  English  in 
1812  I  saw  this  young  man  again ;  he  was  serving  in  our  army,  at  the  head 
of  the  warriors  of  his  tribe;   for  the  Indians  were  admitted  amongst  the 
ranks  of  the  Americans,  on  condition  only  that  they  would  abstain  from 
their  horrible  custom  of  scalping  their  victims.     On  the  evening  of  the  battle 
of  *  *  *    C.  came,  and  sat  himself  down  by  the  fire  of  our  bivouac      I 
asked  mm  what  had  been  Ws  fortune  that  day :  ho  r'^hUd  his  exploits ;  and 
growing  warm  and  animated  by  the  recollection  of  them,  he  concluded  by 
suddenly  opening  the  breast  of  his  coat,  saying,   « You  must  not  betray 
me: -see  here!'     And  I  actually  beheld,"  said  the  Major,  "between  h« 
body  and  his  shirt,  the  skin  and  hair  of  an  English  head.  stiU  dripping  with 


liliiiji 


ii 


.1'  L 
I    < 


430 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


one  day  at  the  log-house  of  a  pioneer.  I  did  not  wish  ta 
penetrate  into  the  dwelling  of  the  American,  but  retired 
to  rest  myself  for  a  while  on  the  margin  of  a  spring,  which 
was  not  far  off,  in  the  woods.  While  I  was  in  this  place, 
(which  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Creek  territory,) 
an  Indian  woman  appeared,  followed  by  a  Negress,  and 
holding  by  the  hand  a  little  white  girl  of  five  or  six  years 
old,  whom  I  took  to  be  the  daughter  of  the  pioneer.  A 
sort  of  barbarous  luxury  set  off  the  costume  of  the  Indian ; 
rings  of  metal  were  hanging  from  her  nostrils  and  ears ; 
her  hair,  which  was  adorned  with  glass  beads,  fell  loosely 
upon  her  shoulders ;  and  I  saw  that  she  was  not  married, 
for  she  still  wore  that  necklace  of  shells  which  the  bride 
always  deposits  on  the  nuptial  couch.  The  Negress  was 
clad  in  squalid  European  garments.  All  three  came  and 
seated  themselves  upon  the  banks  of  the  fountain ;  and  the 
young  Indian,  taking  the  child  in  her  arms,  lavished  upon 
her  such  fond  caresses  as  mothers  give ;  while  the  Negress 
endeavored,  by  various  little  artifices,  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  young  Creole.  The  child  displayed  in  her 
slightest  gestures  a  consciousness  of  superiority  which 
formed  a  strange  contrast  with  her  infantine  weakness; 
as  if  she  received  the  attentions  of  her  companions  with 
a  sort  of  condescension.  The  Negress  was  seated  on  the 
ground  before  her  mistress,  watching  her  smallest  desires, 
and  apparently  divided  between  an  almost  maternal  affec- 
tion for  the  child  and  servile  fear ;  whilst  the  savage  dis- 
played, in  the  midst  of  her  tenderness,  an  air  of  freedom 
and  pride  which  was  almost  ferocious.  I  had  approached 
the  group,  and  was  contemplating  them  in  silence ;  but 
my  curiosity  was  probably  displeasing  to  the  Indian  wo- 
man, for  she  suddenly  rose,  pushed  the  child  roughly 
from  her,  and,  giving  me  an  angry  look,  plunged  into  the 
thicket. 

I  had  often  chanced  to  see  individuals  together  in  the 


if«'i.  ':h 


•-1 


■'■i>-*rf^^' 


PRESENT  AND   FUTURE  CONDITION   OF   THE  INDIANS.    431 

saine  place,  who  belonged  to  the  three  races  which  people 
North  America.  I  had  perceived  from  many  diflPerent 
traits  the  preponderance  of  the  whites.  But  in  the  pic- 
ture which  I  have  just  been  describing,  there  was  some- 
thmg  peculiarly  touching;  a  bond  of  affection  here  united 
tne  oppressors  with  the  oppressed,  and  the  effort  of  Nature 
to  bring  them  together  rendered  still  more  striking  the 
immense  distance  placed  between  them  by  prejudice  and 
the  laws. 


wS^ 


ii|fl'!|'!ll'l||| 


THE  PRESENT  AND  PROBABLE  FUTURE  CONDITION  OF  THE 
INDIAN  TRIBES  WHICH  INHABIT  THE  TERRITORY  POS- 
SESSED  BY   THE   UNION. 

Gradual  Disappearance  of  the  Native  Tribes.  -  Manner  in  which  it  takes 
place.  —  Miseries  accompanying  the  forced  Migrations  of  the  Indians  — 
The  Savages  of  North  America  had  only  two  Ways  of  escaping  Destruc 
tion,  War  or  Civilization.  -  They  are  no  longer  able  to  make  War  _ 
Reasons  why  they  refused  to  become  Civilized  when  it  was  in  their 
Power,  and  why  they  cannot  become  so  now  that  they  desire  it.  — In- 
stance of  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees.  -  Policy  of  the  particular  States 
towards  these  Indians.  —  Policy  of  the  Federal  Government. 

None  of  the  Indian  tribes  which  formerly  inhabited  the 
territory  of  New  England  — the  Narragansetts,  the  Mo- 
hicans, the  Pequods  — have  any  existence  but  in  the  rec- 
ollection of  man.  The  Lenapes,  who  received  William 
Penn,  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Delaware,  have  disappeared;  and  I  myself  met  with 
the  last  of  the  Iroquois,  who  were  begging  alms.  The 
nations  I  have  mentioned  formerly  covered  the  country 
to  the  sea-coast;  but  a  traveller  at  the  present  day  must 
penetrate  more  than  a  hundred  leagues  into  the  interior 
of  the  continent  to  find  an  Indian.  Not  only  have  these 
wfld  tribes  receded,  but  they  are  destroyed;*  and  as  they 

•  In  the  thirteen  original  States,  there  are  only  6,273  Indians  remaining. 


432 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


give  way  or  perish,  an  immense  and  increasing  people  fill 
their  place.  There  is  no  instance  upon  record  of  so  oro- 
digious  a  growth  or  so  rapid  a  destruction :  the  manner 
in  which  the  latter  change  takes  place  is  not  difficult  to 
describe. 

When  the  Indians  were  the  sole  inhabitants  of  the  wilds 
whence  they  have  since  been  expelled,  their  wants  were 
few.  Their  arms  were  of  their  own  manufacture,  their 
only  drink  was  the  water  of  the  brook,  and  their  clothes 
consisted  of  the  skins  of  animals,  whose  flesh  furnished 
them  with  food. 

The  Europeans  introduced  amongst  the  savages  of  North 
America  fire-arms,  ardent  spirits,  and  iron:  they  taught 
them  to  exchange  for  manufactured  stuffs  the  rough  gar- 
ments which  had  previously  satisfied  their  untutored  sim- 
plicity. Having  acquired  new  tastes,  without  the  arts 
by  which  they  could  be  gratified,  the  Indians  were  obliged 
to  have  recourse  to  the  workmanship  of  the  whites ;  but 
in  return  for  their  productions,  the  savage  had  nothing  to 
offer  except  the  rich  furs  which  still  abounded  in  his  woods. 
Hence  the  chase  became  necessary,  not  merely  to  provide 
for  his  subsistence,  but  to  satisfy  the  frivolous  desires  of 
Europeans.  He  no  longer  hunted  merely  to  obtain  food, 
but  to  procure  the  only  objects  of  barter  which  he  could 
offer.*  Whilst  the  wants  of  the  natives  were  thus  increas- 
ing, their  resources  continued  to  diminish. 

*  Messrs.  Claxke  and  Cass,  in  their  report  to  Congress,  the  4th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1829,  p.  23,  remarked  :  "The  time  when  the  Indians  generally  could 
supply  themselves  with  food  and  clothing,  without  any  of  the  articles  of  civ- 
ilized life,  has  long  since  passed  away.  The  more  remote  tribes,  beyond  the 
Mississippi,  who  live  where  immense  herds  of  buffalo  are  yet  to  be  found, 
and  who  follow  those  animals  in  their  periodical  migrations,  could  more 
easily  than  any  others  recur  to  the  habits  of  their  ancestors,  and  live  with- 
out the  white  man  or  any  of  his  manufactures.  But  the  buffalo  is  constantly 
receding.  The  smaller  animals  —  the  bear,  the  deer,  the  beaver,  the  otter^ 
the  musk-rat,  etc.  —  principally  minister  to  the  comfort  and  support  of  the 


PRESENT  AND  FUTTOE  CONDITION  OF  THE  INDIANS.    433 

From  the  moment  when  a  European  settlement  i, 
formed  n,  the  ne.ghborhood  of  the  territory  occupied  by 
the  Indmns,  the  beasts  of  chase  take  the  alarm..    Thou^ 

ranvl?rr'„™""iM"«  "  ""^  ^'"^'''  =•"<•  destitute 
o    any  fixed  dwellmg,  d,d  not  disturb  them;  but  as  soon 

as  the  contmuous  sounds  of  European  labor  are  heard  in 

h  ,r  ne,ghborhood  they  begin  to  flee  away,  and  retire    o 

HII  J^'/         *^- -nstinct  teaches  them  that  they  will 
stiJl  find  deserts  of  immeasurable  extent.     "The  buffalo 
.s  constantly  recedmg,"  say  Messrs.  Clarke  and  Casft 
the,r  Report  of  the  year  1829;  "a  few  yeai^  since  thev 
approached  the  base  of  the  AUeghany;  Li  a  few  yeZ 
hence  they  may  even  be  rare  upon  the  immenslpki,^ 
wh.ch  extend  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountain^' 
have  been  assured  that  this  effect  of  the  approach  of  the 
whiter  IS  often  felt  at  two  hundred  leagues' distance  from 
their  frontier      Their  influence  is  thus  exerted  over  tri^ 
whose  name  ,s  unknown  to  them;  and  who  suffer  the  e^ 

Among  the  Nonhwestem  Mians,  particnlarlv   iha  l.w.  J         , 
a  family  with  food  U  excess!™     nL\^J     ■  °'  supplying 

•  "Kve  year,  ago,"  »,ys  Volney  in  his  Taileau  des  jSlals-Uni,  p  3:0 

28 


m 


ii;  h  h 


4!  '^'iHil 


434 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


m 


of  usurpation  long  before  they  are  acquainted  with  the 
authors  of  their  distress.* 

Bold  adventurers  soon  penetrate  into  the  country  the 
[ndians  have  deserted,  and  when  they  have  advanced  about 
fifteen  or  twenty  leagues  from  the  extreme  frontiers  of  the 
whites,  they  begin  to  build  habitations  for  civilized  beino-s 
in  the  midst  of  the  wilderness.  This  is  done  without  dif- 
ficulty, as  the  territory  of  a  hunting  nation  is  ill  defined ; 
it  is  the  common  property  of  the  tribe,  and  belongs  to  no 
one  in  particular,  so  that  individual  interests  are  not  con- 
cerned in  protecting  any  part  of  it. 

A  few  European  families,  occupying  points  very  remote 
from  each  other,  soon  drive  away  the  wild  animals  which 
remain  between  their  places  of  abode.  The  Indians,  who 
had  previously  lived  in  a  sort  of  abundance,  then  find  it 
difficult  to  subsist,  and  still  more  difficult  to  procm-e  the 
articles  of  barter  which  they  stand  in  need  of  To  drive 
away  their  game  has  the  same  effect  as  to  render  sterile  the 
fields  of  our  agriculturists  ;  deprived  of  the  means  of  sub- 
sistence, they  are  reduced,  like  famished  wolves,  to  prowl 
through  the  foi  aken  woods  in  quest  of  prey.  Their  in- 
stinctive love  of  country  attaches  them  to  the  soil  which 
gave  them  birth,t  even  after  it  has  ceased  to  yield  anything 

*  The  truth  of  what  I  here  advance  may  be  easily  proved  by  consulting 
the  tabular  statement  of  Indian  tribes  inhabiting  the  United  States  and  their 
territories.  (Legislative  Documents,  20th  Congress,  No.  117,  pp.  90-105.) 
It  is  there  shown  that  the  tribes  in  the  centre  of  America  are  rapidly  de- 
creasing, although  the  Europeans  are  still  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
them. 

t  "  The  Indians,"  say  Messrs.  Clarke  and  Cass,  in  their  Report  to  Con- 
gress, p.  15,  "are  attached  to  their  country  by  the  same  feelings  which  bind 
us  to  ours ;  and,  besides,  there  are  certain  superstitious  notions  connected 
with  the  alienation  of  what  the  Great  Spirit  gave  to  their  ancestors,  which 
operate  strongly  upon  the  tribes  who  have  made  few  or  no  cessions,  but 
which  are  gradually  weakened  as  our  intercourse  with  them  is  extended. 
'  We  will  not  sell  the  spot  which  contains  the  bones  of  our  fathers,'  is  almost 
always  thfl  tirst  answer  to  a  proposition  for  a  sale." 


PRESENT  AND  FUTOTE  CONDITION  OF  THE  INDIANS.    435 

but  miseiy  and  death.  At  length,  they  are  compelled  to 
cq„,esee  and  depart:  they  folL  the'traces  o7the  elt 
the  bnffao,  and  the  beaver,  and  a,^  guided  by  these  wild 
an,mals  ,n  the  choiee  of  their  future  country^  PropI  w 
peakmg,  therefor.,  it  is  „„t  the  Europeans  who  drfv  Tay 
the  natives  of  America;  it  is  famine-  »  !,.„  T.*?"'' 
tion,  which  had  escaped' the  casS ^ToLt^m tTd 
for  which  we  are  indebted  to  modem  discover  - 

It  IS  .mpossible  to  conceive  the  frightfol  sufferings  which 
po^e  i;rd      1  ""'^''''"^-     "^'-^^  "-  -d-takentya 

Cither  tribes"77'"  "^^^^  "'^■»^*-  -«  ^^^^^ 
^  other  trbes,wh.ch  receive  them  with  jealous  hostility 

Hunger  is  .„  the  rear,  war  awaits  them,  and  misery  be^te 

them  on  all  s.des.    To  escape  from  so  many  enemfes  they 

eparate,  and  each  individual  endeavor,  to  procure  S=reZ 

vmg  ,„  the  .mmensity  of  the  desert  like  an  outcSt  in  civ 
Jized  society.     The  social  tie,  which  distress  had  long "in^ 
-akened,is  then  dissolved;  they  have  no  longer  a" 

are  obhterated  ;  their  common  name  is  forgotten ;  their 
language  perishes ;  and  all  traces  of  their  o4n  disapplr! 
of  tIT„r  •  "rf  '"  ^"'''  ''''^'  ™  thf  recoUectio^ 
Europe  ^"'^"'  '™''  ""''  "  ^"'^  "^  *«  '<^''™«d  of 

I  should  be  sorry  to  have  my  reader  suppose  that  I  am 
oolonng  the  picture  too  highly:  I  saw  with  my  own  eZ 
many  of  the  miseries  which  I  have  just  described,  and  wis 
.lie  wnness  of  sufferings  which  I  have  not  the  ^ower" 

bnnt  'fT^f  **"  ^"^  ^^^^'  "^^^  I  "^  ™  the  left 
bank  of  the  Mississippi,  at  a  place  named  by  Europeans 
Memphis,  there  arrived  a  numerous  band  of  Choctaw^s  (o 
Chactas,  as  they  are  called  by  the  French  in  Louisiana). 


iiiPfP 


'•Hil 


I! 


436 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


i 


lp'° 


These  savages  had  left  their  country,  and  were  endeavor 
ing  to  gain  the  right  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  where  they 
hoped  to  find  an  asylum  which  had  been  promised  them 
by  the  American  government.  It  was  then  the  middle  of 
winter,  and  the  cold  was  unusually  severe ;  the  snow  had 
frozen  hard  upon  the  ground,  and  the  river  was  drifting 
huge  masses  of  ice.  The  Indians  had  their  families  with 
them ;  and  they  brought  in  their  train  the  wounded  and 
the  sick,  with  children  newly  bom,  and  old  men  upon  the 
verge  of  death.  They  possessed  neither  tents  nor  wagons, 
but  only  their  arms  and  some  provisions.  I  saw  them  em- 
bark to  pass  the  mighty  river,  and  never  will  that  solemn 
spectacle  fade  from  my  remembrance.  No  cry,  no  sob, 
was  heard  amongst  the  assembled  crowd ;  all  were  silent. 
Their  calamities  were  of  ancient  date,  and  they  knew  them 
to  be  irremediable.  The  Indians  had  all  stepped  into  the 
bark  which  was  to  carry  them  across,  but  their  dogs 
remained  upon  the  bank.  As  soon  as  these  animals  per- 
ceived that  their  masters  were  finally  leaving  the  shore, 
they  set  up  a  dismal  howl,  and,  plunging  all  together  into 
the  icy  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  swam  after  the  boat. 

The  ejectment  of  the  Indians  often  takes  place  at  the 
present  day  in  a  regular,  and,  as  it  were,  a  legal  manner. 
When  the  European  population  begins  to  approach  the 
limit  of  the  desert  inhabited  by  a  savage  tribe,  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  usually  sends  forward  en- 
voys, who  assemble  the  Indians  in  a  large  plain,  and, 
having  first  eaten  and  drunk  with  them,  address  them 
thus  :  "  What  have  you  to  do  in  the  land  of  your 
fathers?  Before  long,  you  must  dig  up  their  bones  in 
order  to  live.  In  what  respect  is  the  country  you  inhabit 
better  than  another?  Are  there  no  woods,  marshes,  or 
prairies,  except  where  you  dwell  ?  And  can  you  live 
nowhere  but  under  your  own  sun  ?  Beyond  those  moun- 
tains which  you  see  at  the  horizon,  beyond  the  lake  which 


PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   CONDITION   OF   THE   INDIANS.     437 

bounds  your  territory  on  the  west,  there  lie  vast  coun- 
tries where  beasts  of  chase  are  yet  found  in  great  abun- 
dance;    seU  us  your  lands,  then,  and  go  to  live  happily 
in  those  solitudes."      After  holding   this  language,  they 
spread  before  the  eyes  of  the  Indians  fire-arms,  wooUen 
garments,  kegs   of  brandy,  glass   necklaces,  bracelets  of 
tinsel  ear-rings,  and  looking-glasses.*     If,  when  they  have 
beheld  all  these  riches,  they  still  hesitate,  it  is  insinuated 
that  they  cannot  refuse   the  required  consent,  and   that 
the  government  itself  will  not  long  have  the  power  of 
protecting  them  in  their  rights.     What  are  they  to  do^ 
Half  convinced   and  half  compelled,  they  go   to  inhabit 
new  deserts,  where  the  importunate  whites  will  not  let 
them  remain  ten  years  in  peace.     In  this  manner  do  the 
Americans  obtain,  at  a  very  low  price,  whole  provinces, 
Thase  t  *  ««^ereigns  of  Europe  could   not  pur- 

tiv!  ?\'°.  f!  ^f  ^*^"«  Documents  of  Congress  (Doc.  117).  the  narra- 
ive  of  what  takes  place  on  these  occasions.     This  curious  passage  is  from 

the  formerly  mentioned  Report,  made  to  Congress  by  Mess«.  Clarke  and 
Cass,  m  February,  1829. 

"The  Indians,"  says  the  Report,  "reach  the  tr^ty-ground  poor,  and  al- 
most naked  Large  quantities  of  goods  are  taken  there  by  the  traders,  and 
are  seen  and  examined  by  the  Indians.  The  women  and  children  blme 
raportunate  to  have  their  wants  supplied,  and  their  influence  is  soon  exerted 
to  mduce  a  sak.  Their  improvidence  is  habitual  and  unconquerable.  The 
gratification  of  his  immediate  wants  and  desires  is  the  ruling  passion  of  an 
Indian.  The  expectation  of  future  advantages  seldom  produces  much  effect. 
The  experience  of  the  past  is  lost,  and  the  prospects  of  the  future  disregard- 
ed. It  would  be  utterly  hopeless  to  demand  a  cession  of  land,  unless  the 
means  were  at  hand  of  gratifying  their  immediate  wants;  and  when  their 
condmon  and  circumstances  are  fairly  considered,  it  ought  not  to  surprise  us 
tiiat  they  are  so  anxious  to  relieve  themselves." 

t  On  the  19th  of  May,  1830,  Mr.  Edward  Everett  affirmed  before  the 
Hou.e  of  Representatives,  that  tlie  Americans  had  already  acquired  hy  treat,, 
to  the  east  and  west  of  the  Mississippi,  230.000,000  of  acres.     In  1808  the 

L.T«T/rn''''"'''°°''"''  ^°^  ""  ^""""^  P^^-*«f  1,000  doiars. 
lii  1818,  the  Quapaws  yielded  up  20,000.000  acres  for  4,000  dollars.     They 


?|. 


|liilf'"^il|l|| 


I    1 


Miiii 


1 1 


438 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


These  are  great  evils ;  and  it  must  be  added  that  th(iy 
appear  to  me  to  be  irremediable.  I  believe  that  the 
Indian  nations  of  North  America  are  doomed  to  perish; 
and  that  whenever  the  Europeans  shall  be  established 
on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  that  race  of  men  will 
have  ceased  to  exist.*  The  Indians  had  only  the  alter- 
native of  war  or  civilization ;  in  other  words,  they  must 
either  destroy  the  Europeans  or  become  their  equals. 

At  the  first  settlement  of  the  colonies,  they  might  have 
found  it  possible,  by  uniting  their  forces,  to  deliver  them- 
selves from  the  small  bodies  of  strangers  who  landed  on 
their  continent.!     They  several  times  attempted  to  do  it, 

reserved  for  themselves  a  territory  of  1,000,000  acres  for  a  hunting-ground. 
A  solemn  oath  was  taken  that  it  should  be  respected :  bat  before  long  it  was 
invaded  like  the  rest. 

Mr.  Bell,  in  his  "  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Indian  Aflairs,"  February 
24,  1830,  has  these  words :  "  To  pay  an  Indian  tribe  what  their  ancient 
hunting-grounds  are  worth  to  them  after  the  game  is  fled  or  destroyed,  as  a 
mode  of  appropriating  wild  lands  claimed  by  Indians,  has  been  found  more 
•convenient,  and  certainly  it  is  more  agreeable  to  the  forms  of  justice,  as  well 
as  more  merciful,  than  to  assert  the  possession  of  them  by  the  sword.  Thus 
the  practice  of  buying  Indian  titles  is  but  the  substitute  which  humanity  and 
expediency  have  imposed,  in  place  of  the  sword,  in  arriving  at  the  actual 
enjoyment  of  property  claimed  by  the  right  of  discovery,  and  sanctioned  by 
the  natural  superiority  allowed  to  the  claims  of  civilized  communities  over 
those  of  savage  tribes.  Up  to  the  present  time,  so  invariable  has  been  the 
■operation  of  certain  causes,  first  in  diminishing  the  value  of  forest  lands  to 
the  Indians,  and  secondly,  in  disposing  them  to  sell  readily,  that  the  plan  of 
buying  their  right  of  occupancy  has  never  threatened  to  retard,  in  any  per- 
ceptible degree,  the  prosperity  of  any  of  the  States."  (Legislative  Docu- 
ments, 21st  Congress,  No.  227,  p.  6). 

*  This  seems,  indeed,  to  be  the  opinion  of  almost  all  American  states- 
men. "Judging  of  the  future  by  the  past,"  says  Mr.  Cass,  "we  cannot 
err  in  anticipating  a  progressive  diminution  of  their  numbers,  and  their 
eventual  extinction,  unless  our  border  should  become  stationary,  and  they 
be  removed  beyond  it,  or  unless  some  radical  change  should  take  place  in 
the  principles  of  our  intercourse  with  them,  which  it  is  easier  to  hope  for 
than  to  expect." 

t  Amongst  other  warUk?  enterprises,  there  was  one  of  the  Wampanoags, 


■i 

i 

PRESENT  AND  FUTURE   CONDITION  OF  THE  INDIANS.    439 

and  were  on  the  point  of  succeeding;  but  the  dispropor- 
^on  o    their  resources  at  the  present  day,  when  compared 
will  those  of  the  whites,  is  too  great  to  allow  such  an 
enterpnse  to  be  thought  of.     But  from  time  to  time  among 
the  Indians,  men  of  sagacity  and  energy  foresee  the  fin^ 
destiny   which    awaits   the   native   Population,   and   exert 
themselves  to  unite  all  the  tribes  in  common  hostility  to 
the  Europeans ;   but   their  efforts   are   unavailing.     The 
tribes  which  are  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  whites  are 
too  much  weakened  to  offer  an  effectual  resistance  ;  whilst 
the  others,  giving  way  to  that  childish  carelessness  of  the 
morrow  which  characterizes  savage  life,  wait  for  the  near 
approach  of  danger  before  they  prepare  to  meet  it:  some 
are  unable,  others  are  unwilling,  to  act. 

It  is  easy  to  foresee  that  the  Indians  will  never  civilize 
themselves,  or  that  it  will  be  too  late  when  they  may  be 
mclmed  to  make  the  experiment. 

Civilization  is  the  result  of  a  long  social  process,  which 
takes  place  m  the  same  spot,  and  is  handed  down  from  one 
generation  to  another,  each  one  profiting  by  the  experience 
of  the  last.  Of  all  nations,  those  submit  to  civiUzation 
with  the  most  difficulty  who  habitually  live  by  the  chase. 
Pastoral  tnbes,  indeed,  often  change  their  place  of  abode; 
but  they  follow  a  regular  order  in  their  migrations,  and 
often  return  to  their  old  stations,  whilst  the  dwelling  of  the 
hunter  varies  with  that  of  the  animals  he  pursues. 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  diffuse  knowledge 
amongst  the  Indians,  leaving  unchecked  their  wanderit 
propensities,  by  the  Jesuits  in  Canada,  and  by  the  Puritans 
m  New  England ;  *  but  none  of  these  endeavors  have  been 

and  other  confederate  tribes,  under  Metacom,  in  1675.  against  the  colonist 
gLllTnfe?^'^  ^he  English  were  also  engaged  in  wl^ with  them  in  vt 

hv*of ',  *^'  '"''""'"'  '^  ^'^  ^"^'^"^'  '^'^  ^^°'>«  de  la  Nouvelle  France 
by  Charlevoix    and  the  work  entitled  Lettres  MJiantes.  ' 


440 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


crowiKjd  hv  any  lasting  success.  Civilization  began  in  the 
cabin,  but  soon  retired  to  expire  in  the  woods.  The  great 
error  of  these  legislators  of  the  Indians  was  their  not  un- 
derstanding that,  in  order  to  succeed  in  civilizing  a  people, 
It  is  first  necessary  to  fix  them,  which  cannot  be  done  with- 
out inducing  them  to  cultivate  the  soil  ;  the  Indians  ought 
in  the  first  place  to  have  been  accustomed  to  agriculture. 
But  not  only  are  they  destitute  of  this  indispensable  pre- 
liminary to  civilization,  —  they  would  even  have  great  dif- 
ficulty in  acquiring  it.  Men  who  have  once  abandoned 
themselves  to  the  restless  and  adventurous  life  of  the 
hunter  feel  an  insurmoimtable  disgust  for  the  constant 
and  regular  labor  which  tillage  requires.  We  see  this 
proved  even  in  our  own  societies ;  but  it  is  far  more 
visible  among  races  whose  partiality  for  the  chase  is  a  part 
of  their  national  character. 

Independently  of  this  general  difficulty,  there  is  another, 
which  applies  peculiarly  to  the  Indians.  They  consider 
labor  not  merely  as  an  evil,  but  as  a  disgrace ;  so  that  their 
pride  contends  against  civilization  as  obstinately  as  their 
indolence.* 

There  is  no  Indian  so  wretched  as  not  to  retain  under 
his  hut  of  bark  a  lofty  idea  of  his  personal  worth  ;  he  con- 
siders the  cares  of  industry  as  degrading  occupations  ;  he 
compares  the  husbandman  to  the  ox  which  traces  the  fur- 
row ;  and  in  each  of  our  handicrafts,  he  can  see  only  the 
labor  of  slaves.  Not  that  he  is  devoid  of  admiration  for 
the  power  and  intellectual  greatness  of  the  whites ;  but, 
although  the  result  of  our  efforts  surprises  him,  he  con- 


*  "In  all  the  tribes,"  says  Volney,  in  his  Tableau  des  Etats-Unis,  (p. 
423,)  "there  still  exists  a  generation  of  old  warriors,  who  cannot  forbear, 
when  they  see  their  countrymen  using  the  hoe,  from  exclaiming  against  the 
degradation  of  ancient  manners,  and  asserting  that  the  savages  owe  their 
decline  to  these  innovations ;  adding,  that  they  have  only  to  return  to  their 
primitive  habits,  in  order  to  recover  their  power  and  glory." 


RESENT  AND   FUTURE   CONDITION   OF  THE   INDIANS.    44J 

tomns  tl,o  means  by  which  wo  obtain  it  ,•  an<I  while  he 

superiority      War  and  hnnt.ng  are  the  only  pursuit,  which 
ai.pear  to  hira  worthy  of  a  man.*     The  Indian    ir.h„ 
dioary  soh'tudes  of  his  woods,  cherishes  the    I'e 'det 
he  same  opinions,  as  the  noble  of  the  Middle  Agc^    „ Is' 

pleto  the  resemblance.  Thus,  however  stLge  it  mTy 
seem,  it  ,s  in  the  forests  of  the  New  World,  and  no^ 
amongst  the  Europeans  who  people  its  coasts    that  T 

ancient  prejudices  of  Europe  still  exist  '  *' 

More  than  once,  in  the  course  of  this  work,  I  have 

endeavored  to  explain  the  prodigious  influence  which  the 
ocial  condition  appears  to  exercise  upon  the  laws  and 

«.e  manners  of  men ;  and  I  beg  to  add  a  few  words  on 

the  same  subject. 

the^r!>l"/  r-"7"  '^"  resemblance  which  exists  between 

and  the  wandenng  tnbes  of  North  America,  -  between 
the  customs  described  by  Tacitus,  and  those  of  whilh? 
have  so„,etimes  been  a  witness, -I  cannot  help  thinking 
that  the  same  cause  has  brought  about  the  same  results  if 
both  hemispheres;  and  that,  in  the  midst  of  the  apparen" 

*  The  following  description  occurs  in  an  official  document-   "Until  a 

of  valor,  he  gains  no  consideration,  but  is  regarded  nearly  as  a  woman  In 
thir  great  war-dances,  aU  the  warriors  in  succession  strike  the  Z7Z  it 's 
caUed  and  recount  their  exploits.  On  these  occasions,  their  autC  o" 
sists  of  the  kinsmen,  friends,  and  comrades  of  the  narrator.  TheTrlund 
nnpression  which  his  discourse  produces  on  them  is  manifested  y  thT,e„t 
attention  it  receives,  and  by  the  loud  shouts  which  hail  its  terminadon  The 
young  man  who  finds  himself  at  such  a  meeting  without  any  hing  JZ 
count  IS  very  unhappy;  and  instances  have  sometimes  occurred  of  yl" 
warriors,  whose  passions  had  been  thus  inflamed,  quitting  the  war  dZ 
suddenly,  and  going  off  alone  to  seek  for  trophies  which  they  might  extu'u 
and  adventmres  which  they  might  bo  allowed  to  relate." 


A, 

h 

f 

k 

1 

442 


DEMOCRACY  I>T  AMERICA. 


diversity  of  human  aifairs,  certain  primary  facts  may  be 
discovered,  from  which  all  the  others  are  derived.  In 
what  we  usually  call  the  German  institutions,  then,  I  am 
inclined  to  perceive  only  barbarian  habits,  and  the  opinions 
of  savages  in  what  we  style  feudal  principles. 

However  strongly  the  vices  and  prejudices  of  the  North 
American  Indians  may  be  opposed  to  their  becoming  agri- 
cultural and  civilized,  necessity  sometimes  drives  them  to 
it.  Several  of  the  Southern  tribes,  considerably  numerous, 
and  amongst  others  the  Cherokees  and  the  Creeks,*  found 
themselves,  as  it  were,  surrounded  by  Europeans,  who  had 
landed  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  and,  either  descend- 
ing the  Ohio,  or  proceeding  up  the  Mississippi,  arrived 
simultaneously  upon  their  borders.  These  tribes  had  not 
been  driven  from  place  to  place,  like  their  Northern  breth- 
ren ;  but  they  had  been  gradually  shut  up  within  n^  -»w 
limits,  hke  game  driven  into  an  enclosure  before  the  hunts- 
men plunge  among  them.  The  Indians,  who  were  thus 
placed  between  civilization  and  death,  found  themselves 
obliged  to  live  ignominiously  by  labor,  like  the  whites. 
They  took  to  agriculture,  and,  without  entirely  forsaking 
their  old  habits  or  manners,  sacrificed  only  as  much  as  was 
necessary  to  their  existence. 

The  Cherokees  went  further;  they  created  a  written 


*  These  nations  are  now  swallowed  up  in  the  States  of  Georgia,  Tennes- 
see, Alabama,  and  Mississippi.  There  were  formerly  in  the  South  four 
great  nations  (remnants  of  which  still  exist),  the  Choctaws,  the  Chickasaws, 
the  Creeks,  and  the  Cherokees.  The  remnants  of  these  four  nations 
amounted  in  1830  to  about  75,000  individuals.  It  is  computed  that  there 
are  now  remaining  in  the  territory  occupied  or  claimed  by  the  Anglo-Amer- 
ican Union  about  300,000  Indians.  (See  "Proceedings  of  the  Indian  Board 
in  the  City  of  New  York.")  The  oflBcial  documents  supplied  to  Congress 
make  the  number  amount  to  313,130.  The  reader  who  is  curious  to  know 
the  names  and  numerical  strength  of  all  the  tribes  which  inhabit  the  Anglo- 
American  territory  should  consult  the  documents  I  have  just  referred  ta 
(Legislative  Documents,  20th  Congress,  No.  117,  pp.  90-105.) 


PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  CONDITION  OF  THE  INDIANS.  443 

language,  established  a  permanent  form  of  government, 
and,  as  everything  proceeds  rapidly  in  the  New  World 
before  they  all  of  them  had  clothes,  they  set  up  a  news-' 
paper.*  ^ 

The  development  of  European  habits  has  been  much 
accelerated  among  these  Indians  by  the  mixed  race  which 
has  sprung  up.f  Deriving  intelligence  from  the  father's 
side  without  entirely  losing  the  savage  customs  of  the 
mother,  the  half-blood  forms  the  natural  link  between 
civilization  and  barbarism.  Wherever  this  race  has  mul- 
tiphed,  the  savage  state  has  become  modified,  and  a  great 
change  has  taken  place  in  the  manners  of  the  people.J 

nJ  2?7'  "sf.f '"'  "'  f  ?™""^^  '"^  ^^'^'^  ^ff-«'  21st  Congress. 
.L^:Z'^'  I  """"Z""  '''  '^»^*^P"^-t'o°  of  Indians  of  mixed  blood 
among  the  Cherokees.     The  principal  cans,  dates  from  the  War  of  Inde- 

Zlanr  ^Y,-"^/"^"'™  ^'^°^^*'  ''^-"^  '^^^-  the  side  of 
England  were  oWiged  to  retreat  among  the  Indians,  wher«  they  married. 

in  N^nhT  "^'^       f "''  '"''  ^"^  "^"^  ''''  °'^°^«™"«  ^°1  !«««  influential 

1  r  ,  .T""  ''  '"^  "°^ '*'•''■  ^*'"'^*^^-  '^h«  ^«ri<=-n  continent 
was  peopled  by  two  great  nations  of  Europe,  the  French  and  the  English 

The  former  wer«  not  slow  in  connecting  themselves  with  the  daughters  of 

ac  erTnrth  '  ""  '"^  °°'°'^°^*^  ^"^^^  ^«*--°  ^^^  I°<^an  char- 

aeter  and  then-  own  :  mstead  of  giving  the  tastes  and  habits  of  civilized  life 
to  the  savages,  the  French  too  often  grew  passionately  fond  of  Indian  life. 
They  became  the  most  dangerous  inhabitants  of  the  d.-ert,  and  won  the 
fnendslnp  of  the  Indian  by  exaggerating  his  vices  and  Hs  v^^rtues.     M.  de 
Senonvme,  the  Governor  of  Canada,  wrote  cnus  to  Louis  XIV.  in  1685 
It  ha^  long  been  believed  that,  in  order  to  civilize  the  savages,  we  ought  to 
^aw  them  nearer  to  us     But  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  we  have  been 
mistaken.     Those  which  have  been  brought  into  contact  with  us  have  not  be- 
come  French,  and  the  French  who  have  lived  among  them  are  changed  into 
^vages.  affectmg  to  dress  and  live  like  them."     (<«  Histor,  of  New  France." 
by  Charievoix,  Vol.  II.  p.  345.)     The  Englishman,  on  the  contrary,  co^- 
tinmng  obstmately  attached  to  the  customs  and  the  most  insignificanThabita 
of  hs  forefathers  has  remained  in  the  midst  of  the  American  solitudes  just 
hat  he  was  m  the  bosom  of  European  cities  ;  he  would  not  aUow  of  any 
commnmcafon  with  savages  whom  he  despised,  and  avoided  with  ca,e  the 


1 1  'I 


444 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


'";J 


The  success  of  the  Cherokees  proves  that  the  Indiana 
are  capable  of  civilization,  but  it  does  not  prove  that  they 
will  succeed  in  it.  This  difficulty  which  the  Indians  find 
in  submitting  to  civilization  proceeds  from  a  general  cause, 
the  influence,  of  which  it  is  almost  impossible  for  them  to 
escape.  An  attentive  survey  of  history  demonstrates  that, 
in  general,  barbarous  nations  have  raised  themselves  to 
civilization  by  degrees,  and  by  their  own  efforts.  When- 
ever they  derived  knowledge  from  a  foreign  people,  they 
stood  towards  them  in  the  relation  of  conquerors,  and  not 
of  a  conquered  nation.  When  the  conquered  nation  is 
enlightened,  and  the  conquerors  are  half  savage,  as  in  the 
invasion  of  the  Roman  empire  by  the  Northern  nations, 
or  that  of  China  by  the  Mongols,  the  power  which  victory 
bestows  upon  the  barbarian  is  sufficient  to  keep  up  his 
importance  among  civilized  men,  and  permit  him  to  rank 
as  their  equal  until  he  becomes  their  rival.  The  one  has 
might  on  his  side,  the  other  has  intelligence  ;  the  former 
admires  the  knowledge  and  the  arts  of  the  conquered,  the 
latter  envies  the  power  of  the  conquerors.  The  barbarians 
at  length  admit  civilized  man  into  their  palaces,  and  he  in 
turn  opens  his  schools  to  the  barbarians.  But  when  the 
side  on  which  the  physical  force  lies  also  possesses  an  intel- 
lectual superiority,  the  conquered  party  seldom  become 
civilized ;  it  retreats,  or  is  destroyed.  It  may  therefore 
be  said,  in  a  general  way,  that  savages  go  forth  in  arms 
to  seek  knowledge,  but  do  not  receive  it  when  it  comes 
to  them. 

If  the  Indian  tribes  which  now  inhabit  the  heart  of  the 
continent  could  summon  up  energy  enough  to  attempt  to 
civilize  themselves,  they  might  possibly  succeed.  Superior 
already  to   the  barbarous  nations  which  surround  them, 

anion  of  his  race  with  theirs.  Thus,  while  the  French  exercised  no  salutar;? 
influence  over  the  Indians,  the  English  have  always  remained  alien  froro 
them. 


PRESENT  AND   FUTURE   CONDI  HON   OF  THE   INDIANS.    445 

they  would  gradually  gain  strength  and  experience,  and 
when  the  Europeans  should  appear  upon  their  borders, 
they  would  be  in  a  state,  if  not  to  maintain  their  indepen- 
dence, at  least  to  assert  their  right  to   the  soil,  and  to 
uicorporate   themselves  with   the  conquerors.      But  it  is 
the  misfortune  of  Indians  to  be  brought  into  contact  with 
a  civihzed  people,  who  are  also  (it  must  be  owned)  the 
most  gi-asping  nation  on  the  globe,  whUst  they  are  still 
semi-barbarian  ;  to  find  their  masters  in  their  instructors, 
and  to  receive  knowledge  and  oppression  at  once.     Living 
in  the  freedom  of  the  woods,  the  North  American  Indian 
was  destitute,  but  he  had  no  feeling  of  inferiority  towards 
wiy  one ;  as  soon,  however,  as  he  desires  to  penetrate  into 
the  social  scale  of  the  whites,  he  can  only  take  the  lowest 
rank  in  society,  for  he  enters,  ignorant  and  poor,  within 
the  pale  of  science  and  wealth.     After  having  led  a  life 
of  agitation,  beset  with  evils  and  dangers,  but  at  the  same 
time  filled  with  proud  emotions,*  he  is  obliged  to  submit 

*  There  is  in  the  adventurous  life  of  the  hunter  a  certain  irresistible 
charm  which  seizes  the  heart  of  man,  and  carries  him  away  in  spite  of  rea- 
son  and  experience.     This  is  plainly  shown  by  the  "  Memoirs  of  Tanner  "' 
Tanner  wa.  a  European  who  was  carried  away  at  the  age  of  six  by  the  In- 
dians.  and  remained  tlnrty  years  with  them  in  the  woods.     Nothing  can  be 
conceived  more  appalling  than  the  miseries  which  he  describes.     He  teUs  us 
of  tribes  without  a  chief,  families  without  a  nation  to  caU  their  own,  men  in 
a  state  of  isolation,  wrecks  of  powerful  tribes  wandering  at  random  amid  the 
ice  and  snow  and  desolate  soUtudes  of  Canada.     Hunger  and  cold      :rsno 
^cm;  every  day  their  life  is  in  jeopardy.     Amongst  these  men,  manners 
ha^e  lost  their  empire,  traditions  are  without  power.     They  become  more 
and  more  savage.     Tanner  shared  in  all  these  miseries ;  he  was  aware  of 
his  European  origin  ;  he  was  not  kept  away  from  the  whites  by  force  •  on 
the  contrary  he  came  every  year  to  trade  with  them,  entered  their  dwellings 
and  ^^atnessed  their  enjoyments ;  he  knew  that  whenever  he  chose  to  return  tcl 
cmhzed  hfe,  he  was  perfectly  able  to  do  so,  -and  he  remained  thirty  years 
in  the  deserts.     When  he  came  into  civilized  society,  he  declared  thai  the 
rude  existence,  the  miseries  of  which  he  described,  had  a  secret  charm  for 
him  which  he  could  not  define:  he  returned  to  it  again  and  again  j  at  length 
^e  abandoned  n  with  poignant  regret ;  and  when  he  was  at  length  fix,^ 


r  ■  ■ 

1 

n 

t< 

1         i 

I-    pi 

i    '- 

1  I 


p 

Biiii 

li ' 

;|i 

Hi 

1^ 

1 

* 

ii  : 

ii    I. 


446 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


to  a  wearisome,  obscure,  and  degraded  state.     To  ^-aiu  the 

bread  which  nourishes  him  by  hard  and  ignoble  labor, 

this  is  in  his  eyes  the  only  result  of  which  civilization  can 
boast ;  and  even  this  he  is  not  always  sure  to  obtain. 

When  the  Indians  undertake  to  imitate  their  European 
neighbors,  and  to  till  the  earth  like  them,  they  are  imme- 
diately exposed  to  a  formidable  competition.  The  white 
man  is  skilled  in  the  craft  of  agriculture ;  the  Indian  is  a 
rough  beginner  in  an  art  with  which  he  is  unacquainted. 
The  former  reaps  abundant  crops  without  difficulty,  the 
latter  meets  with  a  thousand  obstacles  in  raising  the  fruits 
of  the  earth. 

The  European  is  placed  amongst  a  population  whose 
wants  he  knows  and  partakes.  The  savage  is  isolated  in 
the  midst  of  a  hostile  people,  with  whose  manners,  lan- 
guage, and  laws  he  is  imperfectly  acquainted,  but  without 
whose  assistance  he  cannot  live.  He  can  only  procure  the 
materials  of  comfort  by  bartering  his  commodities  for  the 
goods  of  the  European,  for  the  assistance  of  liis  country- 
men is  wholly  insufficient  to  supply  his  wants.  Thus, 
when  the  Indian  wishes  to  sell  the  produce  of  his  labor, 
he  cannot  always  find  a  purchaser,  whilst  the  European 
readily  obtains  a  market ;  the  former  can  only  produce  at 
considerable  cost  what  the  latter  sells  at  a  low  rate.  Thus 
the  Indian  has  no  sooner  escaped  those  evils  to  which  bar- 
barous nations  are  exposed,  than  he  is  subjected  to  the  still 
greater  miseries  of  civilized  communities ;  and  he  finds  it 
scarcely  less  difficult  to  live  in  the  midst  of  our  abundance, 
than  in  the  depth  of  his  own  forest. 

among  the  whites,  several  of  his  children  refused  to  share  his  tranquil  and 
easy  situation.  I  saw  Tanner  myself  at  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Superior : 
he  seemed  to  me  more  like  a  savage  than  a  civilized  being.  His  book 
is  written  without  either  taste  or  order ;  but  he  gives,  even  unconsciously,  a 
lively  picture  of  the  prejudices,  the  passions,  the  vices,  and,  above  all,  the 
destitution,  in  the  midst  of  which  he  lived. 


'■'•"•■    ■  »'•- "l 


PRESENT  Am  FUTURE  CONDITION  OF  THE  INDIANS     447 

whitP,  nffi.    i,-     "  *®  ^^^^   once  more.      The 

with  diffipiiltv     Ti.-  wnence  he  obtains  sustenance 

them;  and  ho  quita  the  plough,  resLes  hi,  nZ!lZ7 
and  return,  to  the  wilderness  forever..    The  eoutoioTof 

in  the  middle  of  the  desen    !^H  *  "T"  ?'7""^™=  "P°"  ">"  WabaA, 

their  compeddon,  and  .>l>>r.^°J,^'Z^  T"^' '"««"'»  ^ 
At  tfie  time  when  M  de  V„l„„  ft        u  ^^  "  '  ^"7 '»"  "*. 

through  yincenlT'th  IlZ  X'^"'  •~"°"  *-  '>«^".  ^ 
individuals,  mo.,  of  whom  3 1,uwf^^  ™  """  '"  *  '^^ 
.1.  These  IVnch  serrsZ  tl" plftnt'^df""'?"'  "  ^  ^"°- 
the,  had  contracted  m«.,  of  the  hahtoZ™^"* "  The°l"r"""t  ^ 

«d  accustomed  to-i^^S -IlZuHir"-  '™"  '"'"""'^  '"^ 
But  the  c«e  of  Te«s  i.  sUII  more  striking,  the  St«e  of  Te^tas  „  .  p.„ 


iK'fli 


\t 


1 

1 

i 

J'''  I 

!p 

II 

§ 

liiiii!i^ 


448 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


m  :.  i 


tlie  Creeks  and  Cherokees,  to  which  I  have  already  alluded, 
sufficiently  corroborates  the  truth  of  this  sad  picture. 

The  Indians,  in  the  little  which  they  have  done,  have  un- 
questionably displayed  as  much  natural  genius  as  the  peo- 
ples of  Europe  in  their  greatest  undertakings ;  but  nations 
as  well  as  men  require  time  to  learn,  whatever  may  be 
their  intelligence  and  their  zeal.  Whilst  the  savages  were 
endeavoring  to  civilize  themselves,  the  Europeans  contin- 
ued to  surround  them  on  every  side,  and  to  confine  them 
within  narrower  limits ;  the  two  races  gradually  met,  and 
they  are  now  in  immediate  contact  with  each  other.  The 
Indian  is  already  superior  to  his  barbarous  parent,  but  he 
is  still  far  below  his  white  neighbor.  With  their  resour- 
ces and  acquired  knowledge,  the  Europeans  soon  appro- 
priated to  themselves  most  of  the  advantages  which  the 
natives  might  have  derived  from  the  possession  of  the  soil : 
they  have  settled  among  them,  have  purchased  land  at  a 
low  rate,  or  have  occupied  it  by  force,  and  the  Indians 
have  been  ruined  by  a  competition  which  they  had  not 
the  means  of  sustaining.  They  were  isolated  in  their  own 
country,  and  their  race  only  constituted  a  little  colony  of 
troublesome  strangers  in  the  midst  of  a  numerous  and 
dominant  people.* 

of  Mexico,  and  is  upon  the  frontier  between  that  country  and  the  United 
States.  In  the  course  of  the  last  few  years,  the  Anglo-Americans  have 
penetrated  into  this  province,  which  is  still  thinly  peopled ;  they  purchase 
land,  they  produce  the  commodities  of  the  country,  and  supplant  the  origi- 
nal population.  It  may  easily  be  foreseen,  that,  if  Mexico  takes  no  steps  to 
check  this  change,  the  province  of  Texas  will  very  shortly  ceaae  to  belong 
to  that  government. 

If  the  different  degrees  —  comparatively  slight  —  which  exist  in  Euro- 
pean civilization  produce  results  of  such  magnitude,  it  is  easy  to  understand 
what  must  happen  when  the  most  perfect  European  civilization  comes  in 
contact  with  Indian  barbarism. 

*  See  in  the  Legislative  Docimients  (2lBt  Congress,  No.  89)  instances  of 
excesses  of  every  kind  committed  by  the  whites  upon  the  territory  of  the 
Indians,  either  in  taking  possession  of  a  part  of  their  lands,  until  compelled 


r«ESENT  AND  FUIUBE  CONDITION  OF  THE  INDIANS.    449 

Waahington  said,  in  one  of  his  messages  to  Congress 
-We  a«  more  enlightened  and  more  powerfol  th^e 
rndian  nations ,  we  are  therefore  bound'in  honlr  " 
them  with  lundness,  and  even  with  generosity  "     ZtT 
"Ttuous  and  high-minded  pohcy  hS  noTtn  iL^' 

t^nnTof  ^th       *'  ""■'"  '^  "'"""y  I-W   "r^ 
IT^^^  government.     Although   the  Cherokee 

«.e  Americans'  have  ^LX:IZ'^' ^LT:t, 
foreign  nations,  the  suironnding  State,  have  not  Ln  Zm 
.ng  to  acknowledge  them  as  an  independent  people   and 
have  undertaken  to  subject  these  chiMren  of  the  woclds  to 
t^    tT,"^  magistmtes,  laws,  and  customs..    Stfr 

.her  .emwt,  „p„„  fte  attempt  of  the  State  of  (L^fT     .  ,  i^     °  '^'" 
d«7  line  for  the  co^rj  of  the  Chemk«  ,hl  ^r  ^  *  "  '"°- 

in  1830  the  State  of  Mississippi  assimilated  the  Choetaws  and  Phv-v 

nical«d  to  them  the  inZTT'f   K       .     "^'  '^'''^  "'"^^  *=^™""»- 
29 


9,  I 


$m\i 


■  M 


450 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


4 


of  them  abandon  tlie  soil  which  they  liad  begun  to  clear, 
and  return  to  the  habits  of  savage  life. 

If  we  consider  the  tyrannical  measures  which  have  been 
adopted  by  the  legislatures  of  the  Southern  States,  the  con- 
duct of  their  Governors,  and  the  decrees  of  their  courts  of 
justice,  we  shall  be  convinced  that  the  entire  expulsion  of 
the  Indians  is  the  final  result  to  which  all  the  efforts  of  their 
policy  are  directed.  The  Americans  of  that  part  of  the 
Union  look  with  jealousy  upon  the  lands  which  the  natives 
still  possess  ;  *  they  are  aware  that  these  tribes  have  not  yet 
lost  the  traditions  of  savage  life,  and  before  civilization  has 
permanently  fixed  them  to  the  soil,  it  is  intended  to  force 
them  to  depart  by  reducing  them  to  despair.  The  Creeks 
and  Cherokees,  oppressed  by  the  several  States,  have  ap- 
pealed to  the  central  government,  which  is  by  no  means 
insensible  to  their  misfortunes,  and  is  sincerely  desirous 
of  saving  the  remnant  of  the  natives,  and  of  maintaining 
them  in  the  free  possession  of  that  territory  which  the 
Union  has  guaranteejd  to  them.f  But  the  several  States 
oppose  so  formidable  a  resistance  to  the  execution  of  this 
design,  that  the  government  is  obliged  to  consent  to  the  ex- 
tirpation of  a  few  barbarous  tribes,  already  half  destroyed, 
in  order  not  to  endanger  the  safety  of  the  American  Union. 

But  the  Federal  government,  which  is  not  able  to  pro- 
tect the  Indians,  would  fain  mitigate  the  hardships  of  their 
lot ;  and,  with  this  intention,  it  has  undertaken  to  trans- 
port them  into  remote  regions  at  the  public  cost. 

*  The  Georgians,  who  are  so  much  troubled  by  tlie  proximity  of  the  In- 
dians, inliabit  a  territory  which  does  not  at  present  contain  more  than  seven 
inhabitants  to  the  sqtiare  mile.  In  France,  there  are  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  inhabitants  to  the  same  extent  of  country. 

t  In  1818,  Congress  appointed  commissioners  to  visit  the  Arkansas  ter- 
ritory, accompanied  by  a  deputation  of  Creeks,  Choctaws,  and  Chickasaws, 
This  expedition  was  commanded  by  Messrs.  Kennerly,  M'Coy,  "Wash  Hood, 
and  John  Bell.  See  the  different  Reports  of  the  Commissioners,  and  their 
journal,  in  the  Documents  of  Congress,  No.  87,  House  of  Representatives. 


PRESENT   AND  FUTURE  CONDITION   OF  TIIE  INDIANS.    451 

Between  the  33<1  and  37ti,  degrees  of  north  latitude,  a 
vast  tract  o,  country  lies,  which  has. taken  the  name  of 
Arkansas,  from  the  principal  river  that  waters  it.     It  is 
bounded  on  the  one  side  by  tlie  confines  of  Mexico  on  the 
other  by  the  Mississippi.     Numberless  stream      rlitt 
every  d,,.ct,o„;  the  climate  is  mild,  and  the  soil  produ  " 
t.ve,  and  n  is  inhabited  only  by  a  fe^  wandering'^hordl 
tllT:,-     .    t    ^°™"""™'   "f  "'^   Union  wishes  to 
..on  of  the  South  to  the  portion  of  this  country  which 
.nearest  to  Mexico,  and  at  a  great  distance  from    he 
American  settlements. 

We  were  assured,  towards  the  end  of  the  year  1831 
.hat  10,000  Indians  had  already  gone  to  the  sh^of  the 
Arkansas,  and  fresh  detachments  were  constantly  follow- 
.ng  them.    But  Congress  has  been  unable  to  create  a  unan 
.mous  detemmation  in  those  whom  it  is  disposed  to  protect. 
Some,  mdeed,  joyfully  consent  to  quit  the  seat  of  oppr^t 
sion ;  but  the  most  enlightene<l  membe.^  of  the  cominunity 
refuse  to  abandon  their  .-ecent  dwellings  and  their  sprini. 
■ng  crops ;  they  are  of  opinion  that  the  work  of  civihVa- 
tjon    once  interrupted,  will  never  be  resumed;  they  fear 
that  those  domestic  habits  which  have  been   so  recently 
contracted  may  be  irrevocably  lost  in  the  midst  of  a  coun- 
ry  which  ,s  still  barbarous,  and  where  nothing  is  prepared 
for  the  subsistence  of  an  agricultural  people;  th^y  know 
tha    their  entrance  into  those  wilds  will  be  opposed  by 
hostile  hordes,  and  that  they  have  lost  the  ener^  of  bar- 
barians, without  having  yet  acquired  the  resourfs  of  civ- 
.hzation   ,0  resist  their  attacks.      Moreover,  the  Indians 
eadily  discover  that  the  settlement  which  is  proposed  to 
hem  IS  merely  temporary.     Who  can  assure  them  that 
they  wil  at   ength  be  allowed  to  dwell  in  peace  i^  thd 

mlt      t       ?"   """'"^   -^"^  pledge  themselves  " 
maintam  them  there;  but  the  ten-itoty  which  they  now 


IHf 


l|ii 


.M' 


"  i  I 


Iteiiii; 


,m 


I 


452 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


-I 

i      < 


occupy  was  formerly  secured  to  them  by  the  most  solemn 
oatlis,*  The  American  government  does  not  indeed  now 
rob  them  of  their  lands,  but  it  allows  perpetual  encroach- 
ments on  them.  In  a  few  years,  the  same  white  popula- 
tion which  now  flocks  around  them  will  doubtless  track 
them  anew  to  the  solitudes  of  the  Arkansas  ;  they  will 
then  be  exposed  to  the  same  evils,  without  the  same  reme- 
dies ;  and  as  the  limits  of  the  earth  will  at  last  fail  them, 
their  only  refuge  is  the  grave. 

The  Union  treats  the  Indians  with  less  cupidity  and 
violence  than  the  several  States,  but  the  two  governments 
are  alike  deficient  in  good  faith.  The  States  extend  what 
they  call  the  benefits  of  their  laws  to  the  Indians,  believ- 
ing that  the  tribes  will  recede  rather  than  submit  to  them ; 
and  the  central  government,  which  promises  a  permanent 
refuge  to  these  unhappy  beings  in  the  West,  is  well  aware 
of  its  inability  to  secure  it  to  them.f     Thus  the  tyranny 


*  The  fifth  article  of  the  treaty  made  with  the  Creeks  in  August,  1790,  is 
in  the  following  words :  "  The  United  States  solemnly  guarantee  to  the 
Creek  nation  all  their  land  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States." 

The  seventh  article  of  the  treaty  concluded  in  1791  with  the  Cherokees 
says :  "  The  United  States  solemnly  guarantee  to  the  Cherokee  nation  all 
their  lands  not  hereby  ceded."  The  following  article  declared  that,  if  any 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  other  settler  not  of  the  Indian  race,  should 
establish  himself  upon  the  territory  of  the  Cherokees,  the  United  States 
would  withdraw  their  protection  from  that  individual,  and  give  him  up  to  be 
punished  as  the  Cherokee  nation  should  think  fit. 

t  This  does  not  prevent  them  from  promising  in  the  most  solemn  manner 
to  do  so.  See  the  letter  of  the  President  addressed  to  the  Creek  Indians, 
23d  March,  1829.  "Beyond  the  great  river  Mississippi,  where  a  part  of 
your  nation  has  gone,  your  father  has  provided  a  country  large  enough  for 
all  of  you,  and  he  advises  you  to  remove  to  it.  There  your  white  brothers 
will  not  trouble  you ;  they  will  have  no  claim  to  the  land,  and  you  can  live 
upon  it,  you  and  all  your  children,  as  long  as  the  grass  grows,  or  the  water 
runs,  in  peace  and  plenty.     It  mil  be  yours  forever." 

The  Secretary  of  War,  in  a  letter  written  to  the  Cherokees,  April  18th, 
1829,  declares  to  them  that  they  cannot  expect  to  retain  possession  of  the 


mSEN-T   AND  JDTUKE  CONDITION  OF  THE   INDIANS.    45S 

t  !l™^"'  "^"^"  "'"  ™"'^'''  '"  "'''"'■•  "'«  Union,  b, 
ts  promises  and  resources,  facilitates  their  retreat;  and 
these  me,«ui-es  tend  to  precisely  the  same  end.* 

By  the   will  of  our  Father  in   Heaven,   the  Gov- 

petition  to  Congress,!  "the  red  man  of  America  has 
become  small,  and  the  white  man  great  and  renTwned 
When  the  ancestors  of  the  people  of  these  United  States 
first  came  to  the  shores  of  America,  they  found  the  red 
man  strong:  though  he  was  ignorant  and  sava^  ylt^e 
received  them   kindly,  and  gave  them  dry  ll^'tfre' 

m  token  of  friendship.  Whatever  the  white  man  wanted 
and  asked  of  the  Indian,  the  latter  willingly  gavl  At 
hat  time,  the  Indian  was  the  lord,  and  the^Te"  man 
the  suppliant  But  now  the  scene  has  changed.  The 
strength  of  the  red  man  has  become  weaknesT.    As  his 

and  less ;  and  now,  of  the  many  and  powerfiil  tribes  who 
once  covered  these  United  States,  only  a  few  an,  to  be 
seen,-a  few  whom  a  sweeping  pestilence  has  left.  The 
Northern  tnbes,  who  were  once  so  numerous  and  pow- 
erful, are  now  nearly  extinct.     Thus  it  has  happened  t.> 

m^  of  «mnt«T»pted  po«<,  if  ,hey  would  remove  beyond  the  Mi„h,i„„T 

•  To  obWo  .  correct  a^  „f  ,^  p.,,     ^^ 
1.0  U„,oo  wth  respect  ,o  the  todiao..  it  i.  nece.B.r3r  ^  consalt,  -  uH  m 
U^  or  t^Co  o„i.,  .„d  Sfte  Governments  ™,lg  to  the  indi;   In": 
tant,.      (See  the  Log»tat,ve  Document,,  2l„  Cong™,,  No.  319.)    2d 

H       ,  T«    i.  ^'  "^"'  "'  *»  United  State,.")    sd.  "The 

*  December  18th,  1829. 


f      ll 


r-iE'i 


•'  W'l 


m 


;.:l|Jijll 

'  |: 

I  ' 


■I 


464 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


the  red  man  of  America.  Shall  we,  who  are  remnants, 
share  the  same  fate  ? 

"  The  land  on  which  we  stand  we  have  received  as  an 
inheritance  from  our  fathers,  who  possessed  it  from  tinif 
immemorial,  as  a  gift  from  our  common  Father  in  Ilcaveii. 
They  bequeathed  it  to  us  as  their  children,  and  we  liavo 
sacredly  kept  it,  as  containing  the  remains  of  our  belovetl 
men.  This  right  of  inheritance  we  have  never  ceded,  nor 
ever  forfeited.  Permit  us  to  ask,  what  better  rijilit  can  the 
people  have  to  a  country  than  the  right  of  inheritance  and 
immemorial  peaceable  possession  ?  We  know  it  is  said 
of  late  by  the  State  of  Georgia  and  by  the  Executive  of 
the  United  States,  that  we  have  forfeited  this  right ;  but 
we  think  this  is  said  gratuitously.  At  what  time  have  we 
made  the  forfeit?  What  great  crime  have  we  committed, 
whereby  we  must  forever  be  divested  of  our  country  and 
rights?  Was  it  when  we  were  hostile  to  the  United 
States,  and  took  part  with  the  king  of  Great  Britain, 
during  the  struggle  for  independence?  If  so,  why  was 
not  this  forfeiture  declared  in  the  first  treaty  of  peace 
between  the  United  States  and  our  beloved  men  ?  Why 
Avas  not  such  an  article  as  the  following  inserted  in  the 
treaty :  '  The  United  States  give  peace  to  the  Cherokees, 
but,  for  the  part  they  took  in  the  late  war,  declare  them 
to  be  but  tenants  at  will,  to  be  removed  when  the  conven- 
ience of  the  States  within  whose  chartered  limits  they  live 
shall  require  it'?  That  was  the  proper  '^'me  to  assume 
such  a  possession.  But  it  was  not  thought  of;  nor  would 
our  forefathers  have  agreed  to  any  treaty  whose  tendency 
was  to  deprive  them  of  their  rights  and  their  country." 

Such  is  the  language  of  the  Indians:  what  they  say 
is  true ;  what  they  foresee  seems  inevitable.  From  which- 
ever side  we  consider  the  destinies  of  the  aborigines  of 
North  America,  their  calamities  appear  irremediable :  if 
they  continue  barbarous,  they  are  forced  to  retire ;  if  they 


PRESENT  ,^D   FUTURE   CONDITION   OF   THE  INDIANS.    465 

attempt  to  civilize  themselves,  the  contact  of  a  more  ciV- 
Uized  community  subjects  them  to  oppression  and  destitu- 
tion. They  perish  if  they  continue  to  wander  from  waste 
to  waste,  and  if  they  attempt  to  settle,  they  still  must  per- 
ihJ».  The  assistance  of  Europeans  is  necessary  to  instruct 
them,  but  the  approach  of  Europeans  corrupts  and  repels 
them  into  savage  life.  They  refuse  to  change  their  habits 
as  long  as  their  solitudes  are  their  own,  and  it  is  too 
ato  to  change  them  when  at  last  they  are  constrain*..! 
to  submit. 

The  Spaniards  pursued  the  Indians  with  blood-hounds, 
like  wild  beasts  ;  they  sacked  the  New  World  hke  a  city 
token  by  storm,  with  no  discernment  or  compassion ;  but 
desti-uction   must   cease  at  last,  and  frenzy  has   a   limit- 
the  remnant  of  the  Indian  population  which  had  escaped 
the  massacre  mixed  with  its  conquerors,  and  adopted  in  the 
end  their  religion  and  their  manners.*     The  conduct  of 
the  Americans  of  the  United  States  towards  the  aborigines 
IS  characterized,  on  the  other  hand,  by  a  singular  attach- 
ment  to  the  formalities  of  law.     Provided  that  the  Indians 
retain  their  barbarous  condition,  the  Americans  take  no 
part   in    their   affairs;    they  treat    them   as  independent 
nations,  and  do  not  possess  themselves  of  their  hunting- 
grounds  without  a  treaty  of  purchase ;  and  if  an  Indian 
nation  happen  to  be  so  encroached  upon  as  to  be  unable 
to  subsist  upon  their  territory,  they  kindly  take  them  bv 
the  hand  and  transport  them  to  a  grave  far  from  the  land 
of  their  fathers. 

The  Spaniards  were  unable  to  exterminate  the  Indian 
race  by  those  unparalleled  atrocities  which  brand  them 
with  indelible  shame,  nor  did  they  even  succeed  in  wholly 

•The  honor  of  this  result  is,  however,  by  no  means  due  to  the  Spaniards. 
If  the  Indian  tribes  had  not  been  tillers  of  the  ground  at  the  time  of  the 
arrival  of  the  Europeans,  they  would  unquestionably  have  been  destroyed  in 
South  as  well  as  in  North  America. 


ill 


M 


k 


" 


M 


'  i 


i56 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


depriving  it  of  its  rights ;  but  the  Americans  of  the  United 
States  have  accomplished  this  twofold  purpose  Avith  singu- 
lar felicity,  tranquilly,  legally,  philanthropically,  without 
shedding  blood,  and  without  violating  a  single  great  prin- 
ciple of  morality  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.*  It  is  impos- 
sihla  to  destroy  men  with  more  respect  for  the  laws  of 
humanity. 


>    i 


SITUATION  OF  THE  BLACK  POPULATION  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES,  AND  DANGERS  WITH  WHICH  ITS  PRESENCE 
THREATENS    THE    WHITES. 

Why  it  is  more  difficult  to  abolish  Slavery,  and  to  efiace  all  Vestiges  of  it 
amongst  the  Modems,  than  it  was  amongst  the  Ancients.  —  In  the  United 
States,  the  Frejadices  of  the  Whites  against  the  Blacks  seem  to  increase 
in  Proportion  as  Slavery  is  abolished.  —  Situation  of  the  Negroes  in  the 
Northern  and  Southern  States.  —  Why  the  Americans  abolish  Slavery. 
—  Servitude,  which  debases  the  Slave,  impoverishes  the  Master.  —  Con- 
trast between  the  left  and  the  right  Bank  of  the  Ohio.  —  To  what  at- 
tributable. —  The  Black  Race,  as  well  as  Slavery,  recedes  towards  the 
South.  —  Explanation  of  this  Fact.  —  Difficulties  attendant  upon  the 
Abolition  of  Slavery  in  the  South.  —  Dangers  to  come.  —  General  Anx- 
iety. —  Foundation  of  a  Black  Colony  in  Africa.  —  Why  the  Americans 
of  the  South  increase  the  Hardships  of  Slavery,  whilst  they  are  distressed 
at  its  Continuance. 

The  Indians  will  perish  in  the  same  isolated  condition  in 
which  they  have  lived  ;  but  the  destiny  of  the  Negroes  is 
in  some  measure  interwoven  with  that  of  the  Europeans. 


♦  See,  amongst  other  documents,  the  Report  made  by  Mr.  Bell  in  the 
name  of  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affiiirs,  February  24th,  1830,  in  which  it 
is  most  logically  established,  and  most  learnedly  proved,  that  "  the  funda- 
mental principle,  that  the  Indians  had  no  right,  by  virtue  of  their  ancient 
possession,  either  of  soil  or  sovereignty,  has  never  been  abandoned  either  ex- 
pressly or  by  implication." 

In  ^rusing  this  Report,  which  is  evidently  drawn  up  by  a  skilful  baud, 


PKESENT  AND  FCimi  COra)IT.ON  Or  THE  NEGBOES.    4S7 

These  two  races  are  fetened  to  each  other  without  mter. 

.W™Te- J„'r:  o"l'Zff^°^  f  ^"^  «h'eH 
«f      111  Union  anses  from  the  Drp«?Pnp« 

riably  led  to  this  as  a  primaiy  fact. 

calamity  which  penet^ted  ftrt  vd^^l'  the  t^  Z 

wH^r  jL-h-  :tTt:;^r:fw:;::^^s 

some  accursed  genn  upon  a  portion  o(  the  s  Jl     bu  It 

calamity  is  slaverv      rhr^.*.-     v  "cxuugea.       mis 

the  ChLiansTTe  .^tmr^CilS  ""' 

inflilnn^lt  ™"v  »^°'™ti"d;  bnt  the  wound  thus 

produced  W.l  ™"'«1''^"««-     The  immediate  evils 

fv  ,, T    ^         "^  ''^'^  ™"7  "''^■■ly  the  same  in  antioui! 

:^  Th^eiTr^tr  "5;.;  "r  '^^  -^^ 

»cients,he,ongedtotheTlI!::lT:rtS:*a 

-eh.,  which  .he  JXtllr'  ""'"'•  *°  ""^'^  -^  '"'" 
SO 


I  ! 


Ill 


!i|| 


I  's^ 


458 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


was  often  the  superior  of  the  two  in  education*  and  intel- 
ligence. Freedom  was  the  only  distinction  between  them  -, 
and  when  freedom  was  conferred,  they  were  easily  con- 
founded together.  The  ancients,  then,  had  a  very  simple 
means  of  ridding  themselves  of  slaveiy  and  its  conse- 
quences, —  that  of  enfranchisement ;  and  they  succeeded 
as  soon  as  they  adopted  this  measure  generally.  Not  but 
that,  in  ancient  states,  the  vestiges  of  servitude  subsisted 
for  some  time  after  servitude  itself  was  abolished.  There 
is  a  natural  prejudice  which  prompts  men  to  despise  whom- 
soever has  been  their  inferior  long  after  he  is  become  their 
equal ;  and  the  real  inequality  which  is  produced  by  for- 
tune or  by  law  is  always  succeeded  by  an  imaginary  in- 
equality which  is  implanted  in  the  manners  of  the  people. 
But,  among  the  ancients,  this  secondary  consequence  of 
slavery  had  a  natural  limit ;  for  the  freedman  bore  so  en- 
tire a  resemblance  to  those  bom  free,  that  it  soon  became 
impossible  to  distinguish  him  from  them. 

The  greatest  difficulty  in  antiquity  was  that  of  altering 
the  law  ;  amongst  the  moderns,  it  is  that  of  altering  the 
manners  ;  and,  as  far  as  we  are  concerned,  the  real  obsta- 
cles begin  where  those  of  the  ancients  left  off.  This  arises 
from  the  circumstance  that ,  amongst  the  moderns,  the  ab- 
stract and  transient  fact  of  slavery  is  fatally  united  with 
the  physical  and  permanent  fact  of  color.  The  tradition 
of  slavery  dishonors  the  race,  and  the  peculiarity  of  the 
race  perpetuates  the  tradition  of  slavery.  No  African  has 
ever  voluntarily  emigrated  to  the  shores  of  the  New  World, 
whence  it  follows  that  all  the  blacks  who  are  now  found 
there  are  either  slaves  or  freedmen.  Thus  the  Negro 
transmits  the  et.^mal  mark  of  his  ignonilny  to  all  his  de- 

*  It  is  wf  11  known  that  several  of  the  most  distinguished  authors  of  an- 
tiquity, and  amongst  them  JEsop  and  Terence,  were,  or  had  been,  slaves. 
Slaves  were  not  always  taken  from  barbarous  nations  ;  the  chances  of  war 
reduced  higiily  civilized  men  to  servitude. 


PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  CONDITION  OF  THE  NEGROES.  459 

scendants ;  and  although  the  law  may  abolish  slavery,  God 
alone  can  obliterate  the  traces  of  its  existence 

The  modern  slave  differs  from  his  master  not  only  in  hi* 
condition,  but  in  his  origin.     You  may  set  the  Negro  free, 
but  you  cannot  make  him  otherwise  than  an  ahen  to  the 
European      Nor  is  this  all;  we  scarcely  acknowledge  the 
common  features  of  humanity  in  this  stranger  whom  slav- 
ery  has  brought  amongst  us.     His  physiognomy  is  to  our 
eyes  hideous,  his  understanding  weak,  his  tastes  low  ;  and 
we  are  almost  inclined  to  look  upon  him  as  a  being  inter- 
mediate between  man   and   the   brutes.*     The  moderns, 
then,  after  they  hnve  abolished  slavery,  have  three  preju- 
dices to  C6ntend  against,  which  are  less  easy  to  attack,  and 
far  less  easy  to  conquer,  than  the  mere  fact  of  servitude, 
--the  prejudice  of  the  master,  the  prejudice  of  the  race, 
and  the  prejudice  of  color. 

It  is  difficult  for  us,  who  have  had  the  good  fortmie  to 
be  bom  amongst  men  like  ourselves  by  nature,  and  our 
equa  s  by  law,  to  conceive   the  irreconcilable  differences 
which  separate  the  Negro  from  the  European  in  America. 
But  we  may  derive  some  faint  notion  of  them  from  anal- 
ogy.    I.  ranee  was  formerly  a  country  in  which  numerous 
inequalities  existed,  that  had  been  created  by  law.     Noth- 
ing can  be  more  fictitious  than  a  purely  legal  inferiority, - 
nothing  more  contrary  to  the  instinct  of  mankind  than 
these  permanent  divisions  estabHshed  between  beings  evi- 
dently similar.     Yet    these   divisions   subsisted   forages  • 
they  still  subsist  in  many  places ;  and  everywho^e  They 
have  left  imaginary  vestiges,  which  time  alone  can  effac^. 
If  It  be  so  difficult  to  root  out  an  inequality  which  oricri- 
nates  solely  in  the  law,  how  are  those  distinctions  to  be 
destroyed  whidi  seem  to  be  based  upon  the  immutable 

•  To  induce  the  whites  to  abandon  the  opinion  they  have  conceived  of  the 
moral  and  intel  eccual  inferiority  of  their  former  slaves,  the  Negrot  nVt^ 
change;  but  a«  long  as  this  opinion  subsists,  they  cannot  ch.n.« 


I'll 


m 


If 


460 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


laws  of  Nature  herself?  When  I  remember  the  extreme 
difficulty  with  which  aristocratic  bodies,  of  whatever  na- 
ture they  may  be,  are  commingled  with  the  mass  of  the 
people,  and  the  exceeding  care  which  they  take  to  preserve 
for  ages  the  ideal  boundaries  of  their  caste  inviolate,  I  de- 
spair of  seeing  an  aristocracy  disappear  which  is  founded 
upon  visible  and  indelible  signs.  Those  who  hope  that  the 
Europeans  will  ever  be  amalgamated  with  the  Negroes 
appear  to  me  to  delude  themselves :  I  am  not  led  to  any 
such  conclusion  by  my  reason,  or  by  the  evidence  of  facts. 
Hitherto,  wherever  the  whites  have  been  the  most  power- 
ful, they  have  held  the  blacks  in  degradation  or  in  slavery ; 
wherever  the  Negroes  have  been  strongest,  they  have  de- 
stroyed the  whites :  this  has  been  the  only  balance  which 
has  ever  taken  place  between  the  two  races. 

I  see  that,  in  a  certain  portion  of  the  territory  of  the 
United  States,  at  the  present  day,  the  legal  barrier  which 
separated  the  two  races  is  falling  away,  but  not  that  which 
exists  in  the  manners  of  the  country ;  slavery  recedes,  but 
the  prejudice  to  which  it  has  given  birth  is  immovable. 
Whoever  has  inhabited  the  United  States  must  have  per- 
ceived, that,  in  those  parts  of  the  Union  in  which  the 
Negi'oes  are  no  longer  slaves,  they  have  in  no  wise  drawn 
nearer  to  the  whites.  On  the  contrary,  the  prejudice  of 
race  appears  to  be  stronger  in  the  States  which  have  abol- 
ished slavery,  than  in  those  where  it  still  exists ;  and  no- 
where is  it  so  intolerant  as  in  those  States  where  servitude 
has  never  been  known. 

It  is  true,  that  in  the  North  of  the  Union  marriages  may 
be  legally  contracted  between  Negroes  and  whites;  but 
public  opinion  would  stigmatize  as  infamous  a  man  who 
should  connect  himself  with  a  Negress,  and  it  would  be 
difficult  to  cite  a  single  instance  of  such  a  union.  The 
electoral  franchise  has  been  conferred  upon  the  Negroes  in 
almost  all  the  States  in  which  slavery  has  been  aboUshed , 


PRESENT  AUD   rUTTOE  COSBITION  OF  THE  NEOBOES.    461 

but  if  they  com.  forward  to  vote,  their  lives  are  in  danger. 
If  oppressed,  they  may  bring  an  action  at  law,  but  they 
r  «"<>  none  but  whites  amongst  their  judges ;  and  1 
though  they  may  legally  serve  a.  juro«,  prefudi  e  leb 
them  from  that  office.  The  same  schools  do  not  recdve 
he  ch-ldren  of  the  black  and  of  the  European..    hZ 

bes.de  their  former  masters ;    in   the  hospitals,  they  ho 

God  as  the  wh,tes,  .t  must  be  at  a  different  altar,  and  in 
ri,e.r  own  churches,  with  their  own  clergy.  The  \^Z  of 
Heaven  are  not  closed  against  tl,em,  Zt  their  tZl 
Z^      TT"^  '"  "'"  ™"7  '^""fi"^  of  I-"  other  world 

d^t^ t     Th     TT"  ^■'""^  '™"  ■"  ">«  equality  of 

d^th.t     Thus  the  Negro  is  free,  but  he  can  share  neither 

the  rights,  nor  the  pleasures,  nor  the  labor,  nor  the  afflic- 

lon^nor  the  tomb  of  him  whose  equal  he  has  been  dL 

In  the  South,  where  slavery  still  exists,  the  Negroes  are 
less  carefoUy  kept  apart;  they  sometimes  share  the  labo« 
and  the  recreations  of  the  whites;  the  whites  consej" 
nt^rmix  w.th  them  to  a  certain  extent,  and  although  kgi^ 
lation  treats  them  more  harshly,  the  habits  of  the  people 
are  more  tolerant  and  compassionate.  In  the  South  Se 
master  .not  afodd  to  raise  his  slave  to  his  own  skiing 
Wause  he  knows  that  he  can  in  a  moment  reduce  him  to 
the  dust,  at  pleasure.     In  the  Nortl,,  the  white  no  longer 

S»  Jm   t  ""'??*"•    '"  "■«  °f  *«  P-blio  school.  In  to  Nonhero 
6t«ve;nmis,  and  often  in  the  same  tomb»,  wiih  whitee.  -  Am.  Eb. 


I''l|r' 


#-''<<!{  Pi! 


1)1 


462 


rEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


-listinctly  perceives  tlie  barrier  which  separates  him  from 
the  degraded  race,  and  he  shuns  the  Negro  with  the  more 
pertinacity,  since  he  fears  lest  they  should  some  day  be 
confounded  together. 

Amongst  the  Americans  of  the  South,  Nature  some- 
times reasserts  her  riglits,  and  restores  a  transient  equality 
between  the  blacks  and  the  whites;  but  in  the  North, 
pride  restrains  the  most  imperious  of  human  passions.  The 
American  of  the  Northern  States  would,  perhaps,  allow 
the  Negress  to  share  his  licentious  pleasures,  if  the  laws 
of  his  country  did  not  declare  that  she  may  aspire  to  be 
the  legitimate  partner  of  his  bed ;  but  he  recoils  with  hor- 
ror from  her  who  might  become  his  wife. 

Thus  it  is,  in  the  United  States,  that  the  prejudice  which 
repels  the  Negroes  seems  to  increase  in  proportion  as  they 
are  emancipated,  and  inequality  is  sanctioned  by  the  man- 
ners whilst  it  is  effaced  from  the  laws  of  the  country.  But 
if  the  relative  position  of  the  two  races  which  inhabit  the 
United  States  is  such  as  I  have  described,  whv  have  the 
Americans  abolished  slavery  in  the  North  of  the  Union, 
why  do  they  maintain  it  in  the  South,  and  why  do  they 
aggravate  its  hardships  ?  The  answer  is  easily  given.  It 
U  not  for  the  good  of  the  Negi'oes,  but  for  that  of  the 
whites,  that  measures  are  taken  to  abolish  slavery  in  the 
United  States. 

The  first  Negroes  were  imported  into  Virginia  about  the 
year  1621.*  In  America,  therefore,  as  well  as  in  the  rest 
of  the  globe,  slavery  originated  in  the  South.  Thence  it 
spread  from  one  settlement  to  another ;  but  the  number  of 
slaves  diminished  towards  the  Northern  States,  and  the  Ne- 
gro population  was  always  very  limited  in  New  England.f 


*  See  Beverley's  History  of  Virginia.  See  also  in  Jefferson's  Memoirs 
some  curious  details  concerning  the  introduction  of  Negroes  into  Virginia, 
and  the  lirst  Act  which  prohibited  the  importation  of  them,  in  1778. 

+  The  numoer  of  slaves  was  less  considerable  in  the  North,  but  the  ad- 


PKESZNT  Aim  PUTUEE  CONDITION  OF  THE  NEUROES. 

the  Colon  es,  when  the  attention  of  the  planters  wa,  struck 
by  the  extraord,na,7  fact,  that  the  provinces  which  T™ 
eomparafvely  destitute  of  slaves  inireased  in  popuIaLT 
m  wealth,  and  in  prosperity  more  rapidly  than  thTwhkh 
contamed  many  of  them.  I„  ,he  former,  howZr  he 
.nhahtants  were  obliged  to  cultivate  the    oil  thisd™ 

with\™:^''f''"T.'  ^  *^  "'"^^'  '"^^  --  «™^:i 

with  hands  for  which  they  paid  no  wages.  Yet  thou<rh 
labor  and  expense  were  on  the  one  side,  and  ele  wUh 
economy  on  the  other,  the  former  had  the  more  advantf^ 
geous  system.  This  result  seemed  the  more  difficTt 
explain,  since  the  settlers,  who  all  belonged  to  2  sam" 
European  race,  had  the  same  habits,  the  same  civ"  lUZ 

:irs..gh7' ""' "'"'  '"^' " "'--  ^"" 

Time,  however,  continued  to  advance ;  and  the  An<rlo. 
Ameneans,  spreading  beyond  the  coast^  of  the  ATlant 

the  West ;  they  met  there  with  a  new  soil  and  an 
unwonted  climate;  they  had  to  overcome  obstacles  the 
most  various  character;  their  races  intermingled   the    „ 

ot  the  North  descending  to  the  South.     But  in  the  midst 
of  all  these  causes,  the  same  result  occurred  at  ever^  "ep  ' 

south      In  1740,lheLeg,,la.„re  of  the  Stato  of  New  r„rk  glared  iha,  Z 
d-root  .niponation  of  slave,  ought  to  be  encouraged  a,  mnchTlt  t  '^ 
■jnugging  ,„™,.l,  p„„„hed,  in  order  no.  t^dLcouC .1  W^L" 
(Kents  Commentaries,  Vol.  II  n  20fi  ^     r-n..-^.,  , 

^^^.  op.„n.  and  af^^  ^ •.;:  tj— ;-:  TZ  t 


1    I. 


•I  'III' 


II 

Ll 


M 


464 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


in  general,  the  colonies  in  which  there  were  no  slaves  be- 
came more  populous  and  more  prosperous  than  those  in 
which  slavery  flourished.  The  farther  they  v/^ent,  the 
more  was  it  shown  that  slavery,  which  is  so  cruel  to  the 
slave,  is  prejudicial  to  the  master. 

But  this  truth  was  most  satisfactorily  demonstrated  when 
civilization  reached  the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  The  stream 
which  the  Indians  had  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Ohio, 
or  the  Beautiful  River,  waters  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
valleys  which  has  ever  been  made  the  abode  of  man.  Un- 
dulating lands  extend  upon  both  shores  of  the  Ohio,  whose 
soil  affords  inexhaustible  treasures  to  the  laborer ;  on  either 
bank,  the  air  is  equally  wholesome  and  the  climate  mild ; 
and  each  of  them  forms  the  extreme  frontier  of  a  vast 
State :  that  which  follows  the  numerous  windings  of  the 
Ohio  upon  the  left  is  called  Kentucky;  that  upon  the 
right  bears  the  name  of  the  river.  These  two  States 
differ  only  in  a  single  respect;  Kentucky  has  admitted 
slavery,  but  the  State  of  Ohio  has  prohibited  the  existence 
of  slaves  within  its  borders.*  Thus  the  traveller  who 
floats  down  the  current  of  the  Ohio,  to  the  spot  where 
that  river  falls  into  the  Mississippi,  may  be  said  to  sail  be- 
tween liberty  and  servitude;  and  a  transient  inspection 
of  surrounding  objects  will  convince  him  which  of  the 
two  is  more  favorable  to  humanity. 

Upon  the  left  bank  of  the  stream,  the  population  is 
sparse,  —  from  time  to  time,  one  descries  a  troop  of 
slaves  loitering  in  the  half-desert  fields ;  the  primeval 
forest  reappears  at  every  turn ;  society  seems  to  be  asleep, 
man  to  be  idle,  and  nature  alone  offers  a  scene  of  activ- 
ity and  life. 

From  the  right  bank,  on  the  contrary,  a  confiised  hum 
is  heard,  which  proclaims  afar  the  presence  of  industry; 

*  Not  only  is  slavery  prohibited  in  Ohio,  but  no  free  Negroes  are  [were] 
allowed  to  enter  the  territory  of  that  State,  or  to  hold  property  in  it. 


gflJiWritiiriiMWlBi 


I 


PBESEKT  A«D  ™x„HE  CONDmOK  OP  THE  NEGROES    465 

laborers;  and  1„  0^0^  .^  t  ""'.'"=""'y  "^  *« 

more  i„  America  than  half  a  centartt  F  ^'"".  ""^ 
the  pr.e„t  da,,  the  ^,.UtC7ZZ  tZ!  tl  '  1 
Kentucky   bv   two    hunrU^A        j    nn        ^^^^^^ds  that  of 

The.  mjn::k':ti::^  Z'e'T'^'  '"-^■t 

ily  be  understood;  and  thev  Zffi^  .  ","!  """^  '■'^'«^- 
the  differences  wh  eh  we  rem^rhl  '''^'''''  """"y  "^ 
of  anti,nit,  and  that  oT„„7„t  t^  "^  ^'"""»'°" 

withTeiSratfs.tf'h'r  ^"•"  "'•""'  '^  -"^-""'^ 
identified  t^^  tht^'pl  ^Hd^'^-  "'''  '''^' ''  '' 
the  one  side,  it  is  degrad  d  on  The  oth^T'T"' '  T 
on  the  former  territo^,  no  Vhite ""'  el  \eTd' 

no  C  ;  idfe  for  thf  V.  '""^  ^  ^'"^^  =  ""  *e  latter, 
it,  and  i^te.',^  et  tZ'^T  T"'  '''''  ''^''^■ 
the  men  .hosf  tas.  it  is  Slr^rs^of  KeT 

s  aTd  ^f^-rt^Lditht  r  k^^'^'  '-"^  ^^— 

Ohio,  where  tL/mtwo:^^.^:!!!''^'  ^^ '- 

Uko  Erie  and  the  Ohio  by  .fe^Vn f     A  ?  ^  estoblishei  between 

"bich  arrive  at  Ne»  y„T  1'  LT     "^     *'  '^""''"^  """""^^ 
-m«  «ve  band,.,  leaslrtf  Zti^f '"^'■'  ^^  ™-  »  New  Orieao. 

t  The  exact  nambera  ffiven  hv  fh^ 
688,844;  Ohio,  937  679      t^l  .-  "™°'  "'  '*«'  "«">:  Kentuck,, 


:|  ^iV. 


""*1l   li 


466 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


It  is  true  that,  in  Kentucky,  the  planters  are  not  obliged 
to  pay  the  slaves  whom  they  employ  ;  but  they  derive 
small  profits  from  their  labor,  wlaist  the  wages  paid  tc 
free  workmen  would  be  returned  with  interest  in  the  value 
of  their  services.  The  free  workman  is  paid,  but  he  does 
his  work  quicker  than  the  slave ;  and  rapidity  of  execution 
is  one  of  the  great  elements  of  economy.  The  white  sells 
his  services,  but  they  are  only  purchased  when  they  may 
be  usefiil ;  the  black  can  claim  no  remuneration  for  his  toil, 
but  the  expense  of  his  maintenance  is  perpetual ;  he  must 
be  supported  in  his  old  age  as  well  as  in  manhood,  in  his 
profitless  infancy  as  well  as  in  the  productive  years  of 
youth,  in  sickness  as  well  as  in  health.  Payment  must 
equally  be  made  in  order  to  obtain  the  services  of  either 
class  of  men  :  the  free  workman  receives  his  wages  in 
money;  the  slave  in  education,  in  food,  in  care,  and  in 
clothing.  The  money  which  a  master  spends  in  the  main- 
tenance of  his  slaves  goes  gradually  and  in  detail,  so  that 
it  is  scarcely  perceived  ;  the  salary  of  the  free  workman 
is  paid  in  a  round  sum,  and  appears  to  enrich  only  him 
who  receives  it ;  but  in  the  end,  the  slave  has  cost  more 
than  the  free  servant,  and  his  labor  is  less  productive.* 

*  Independently  of  these  causes,  which,  wherever  free  workmen  abound, 
render  their  labor  more  productive  and  more  economical  than  that  of  slaves, 
another  cause  may  be  pointed  out  which  is  peculiar  to  the  United  States : 
the  sugar-cane  has  hitherto  been  cultivated  with  success  only  upon  the  banks 
of  the  Mississippi,  near  the  mouth  of  that  river  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In 
Louisiana,  the  cultivation  of  the  sugar-cane  is  exceedingly  lucrative ;  nowhere 
does  a  laborer  earn  so  much  by  his  work ;  and,  as  there  is  always  a  certain 
relation  between  the  cost  of  production  and  the  value  of  the  produce,  the 
price  of  slaves  is  very  high  in  Louisiana.  But  Louisiana  is  one  of  the  con- 
federate States,  and  slaves  may  be  carried  thither  from  all  parts  of  the 
Union ;  the  price  given  for  slaves  in  New  Orleans  consequently  raises  the 
value  of  slaves  in  all  the  other  markets.  The  consequence  of  this  is,  that,  in 
the  countries  where  the  land  is  less  productive,  the  cost  of  slave-labor  is  still 
very  considerable,  which  gives  an  additional  advantage  to  the  competition  of 
firee  labor. 


PEESKNT  AND  FUTUEL  CONDITION   OF  THE  NEQBOES.    467 

The  influence  of  slavery  extends  still  further :  it  aflect, 

dency    0  h  s  ideas  and  tastes.     Upon  both  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  the  diaracter  of  the  inhabitants  is  entei-prising  and 
energetic !  but  this  vigor  is  very  differently  exSdl, 
he  two  States.     The  white  inhabitant  of^Ohio    « 
o  subsist  by  his  own  exertions,  regards  temporl^'.^pTr^ 
Hy  as  U.e  clnef  aim  of  his  existence;  and  a's  the'eZ.; 
winch  he  occupies  presents  inexhaustible  resources  to  hi 
"dustry  and  ever-varying  lures  to  his  activity,  h    a  qj" 
tive  ai-dor  surpasses  the  ordinary  limits  of  human  cupid- 
ity, he  .s  tormented  by  the  desire  of  wealth,  and  he  bol  llv 
enters  upon  every  path  which  fortune  opeL  to  him    he 
becomes  a  sa.  or,  a  pioneer,  an  artisan,  or  a  cultivator  ;ith 
he  same  indifference,  and  supporU  with  equal  ctstocy 
the  fatigues  and  the  dangers  incidental  to  these  vS 

■•::  Tnrhi;  ""^  ,r  "^7 "'  "^  """">"-  -  -'"^^  - 

But  the  Kentuckian  scorns  not  only  labor,  but  all  .!»  ' 
undertakings  which  labor  promotes,  af  he  « vis  in  at  it 
mdependence,  his  taste,  are  those  of  an  idle  man"  molt 
has  los  a  portion  of  its  valne  in  his  eyes ;  he  covets  wlhh 

which  his  neighbor  devotes  to  gain,  turns  with  him  to^ 
passionate  love  of  field  sports  and  militaiy  exercis"  he 
delights  m  violent  bodily  e.xertion,  he  is  familiar  wirh'tle 
use  of  arms  and  is  accustomed  from  a  very  early  te  to 
expose  his  life  in  single  combat.     Thus  slavery  Lronlv 

i^^^'^birrt"^"'"™-"--'--^^^"' 

rX"^.^crbrrt'Zm:c S-- 


m 


p  'II 

If     '    !t 


■T 


\ 


■it  i 


ill 


if 

!  1 
t                   1 

>  ,      ! 

1 

1 

408 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


the  inhabitants  of  the  South  and  those  of  the  North.  At 
the  present  day,  it  is  only  the  Nortliern  States  which  are  in 
possession  of  shipping,  manufactures,  raih'oads,  and  canals. 
This  difference  is  perceptible,  not  only  in  comparing  the 
North  with  the  South,  but  in  comparing  the  several  South- 
ern States.  Almost  all  those  who  carry  on  commercial 
operations,  or  endeavor  to  turn  slave  labor  to  account,  in 
the  most  southern  districts  of  the  Union,  have  emigrated 
from  the  North.  The  natives  of  the  Northern  States  are 
constantly  spreading  over  that  portion  of  the  American 
territory,  where  they  have  less  to  fear  from  competition ; 
they  discover  resources  there  which  escaped  the  notice  of 
the  inhal)itants  ;  and,  as  they  comply  with  a  system  which 
they  do  not  approve,  they  succeed  in  turning  it  to  better 
advantage  than  those  who  first  founded,  and  who  still 
maintain  it. 

Were  I  inclined  to  continue  this  parallel,  I  could  easily 
prove  that  almost  all  the  differences  which  may  be  re- 
marked between  the  characters  of  the  Americans  in  the 
Southern  and  in  the  Northern  States  have  originated  in 
slavery ;  but  this  would  divert  me  from  my  subject,  and 
my  present  intention  is  not  to  point  out  all  the  consequen- 
ces of  servitude,  but  those  effects  which  it  has  produced 
upon  the  material  prosperity  of  the  countries  which  have 
admitted  it. 

The  influence  of  slavery  upon  the  production  of  wealth 
must  have  been  very  imperfectly  known  in  antiquity,  as 
slavery  then  obtained  throughout  the  civilized  world ;  and 
the  nations  which  were  unacquainted  with  it  were  barba- 
rians. And,  indeed,  Christianity  only  abolished  slavery  by 
advocating  the  claims  of  the  slave ;  at  the  present  time,  it 
may  be  attacked  in  the  name  of  the  master ;  and,  upon  this 
point,  interest  is  reconciled  with  morality. 

As  these  truths  became  apparent  in  the  United  States, 
slavery  receded  before  the  progress  of  experience.     Servi- 


'••"'•'''  ''\'iini(iiiji(iniiii)iiii|  ^  .  _^ 


I'BESKNT  AND  FUTUBE  CONDiriON  Of  THE  NEOROES.    469 

ward  the  North ;  but  it  „ow  retires  ag,„„.  Freedom 
wh.1.  started  from  „,e  North,  now  descends  „„  „  eT^ 
n.ptedly  to«-„rd  the  South.  Amongst  the  great  States 
Pe„„,,lvan,„  now  constitutes  the  extreme  limft  of  slaty 
to  the  North  ;  b.it,  even  within  those  limits  the  suZ 
'Clr  '*""•"=  «»0-lan<l.  which  is  immedL';  J^^,! 
Pennsyhan>a,  ,s  preparing  for  its  abolition  ;  and  Virginia 

:!S  aTiLrgi^'-^"""^'  '^  "'-"^ "'-'"«" 

No  great  change  takes  place  in  human  institutions,  with- 

When  the  law  of  primogeniture  obtained  in  the  South 
^ch  fam,]y  was  represented  by  a  wealthy  individual,  wh^ 
was  ne,  her  cot^pellcd  nor  induced  to  labor;  and  h;  wa! 
surrounded,  as  by  parasitic  plants,  by  the  other  member 
of  h,s  famdy,  who  were  then  excluded  by  law  from  shaX" 

he  common  mheritance,  and  who  led  the  same  kind  of 
We  as  htmself.     The  same  thing  then  occurred  in  all  the 

tamihes  of  some  conntries  in  Europe,  namely,  that  the 
younger  sons  remain  in   the  same  state  of  Wl  ne L  a 
their  elder  brother,  without  being  as  rich  as  he  is      This 

ciauy  carried  on  by  slaves;  but  within  the  last  few  years  thp  «.„ri„.     • 

dispSan  T  T  "'  ''"■^'^"'  '^"'^  ^'^^--^  -  *h-eforo  more 

Sn  of  tobV    "^  ""       '''  '""^  '^^'  ''  ^'''  "P  «'--'-'-r  in  the  culti 
T    [    .,       '  °'  *^  ^''''  "P  ^'"^^'^  ^""^  ^o'^-^^o  at  the  same  time 
[It  IS  hardly  necessary  to  remind  the  American  reader  that  theText  hen, 
J  wntten  nearly  thirty  yeavs  ago,  and  was  a  tolerably  J^lL^cripS; 


mm 


M 


470 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


identical  result  seems  to  be  produced  in  Europe  and  in 
America  by  wholly  analogous  causes.  In  the  South  of 
the  United  States,  the  whole  race  of  whites  formed  an 
aristocratic  body,  headed  by  a  certain  number  of  privi- 
leged individuals,  whose  wealth  was  permanent,  and  whose 
leisure  was  hereditary.  These  leaders  of  the  American 
nobility  kept  alive  the  traditional  prejucUces  of  the  white 
race  in  the  body  of  which  they  were  the  representatives, 
and  maintained  idleness  in  honor.  This  aristocracy  con- 
tained many  who  were  poor,  but  none  who  would  work ; 
its  members  preferred  want  to  labor ;  consequently,  Negro 
laborers  and  slaves  met  with  no  competition ;  and,  what- 
ever opinion  might  be  entertained  as  to  the  utility  of  their 
industry,  it  was  necessary  to  employ  them,  since  there  was 
no  one  else  to  work. 

No  sooner  was  the  law  of  primogeniture  abolished,  than 
fortunes  began  to  diminish,  and  all  the  families  of  the 
country  were  simultaneously  reduced  to  a  state  in  which 
labor  became  necessary  to  existence,  —  several  of  them 
have  since  entirely  disappeared,  —  and  all  of  them  learned 
to  look  forward  to  the  time  when  it  would  be  necessary 
for  every  one  to  provide  for  his  own  wants.  Wealthy 
individuals  are  still  to  be  met  with,  but  they  no  longer 
constitute  a  compact  and  hereditary  body,  nor  have  they 
been  able  to  adopt  a  line  of  conduct  in  which  they  could 
persevere,  and  which  they  could  infuse  into  all  ranks 
of  society.  The  prejudice  which  stigmatized  labor  was, 
in  the  first  place,  abandoned  by  common  consent,  the 
number  of  needy  men  was  increased,  and  the  needy  were 
allowed  to  gain  a  subsistence  by  labor  without  blushing 
for  their  toil.  Thus,  one  of  the  most  immediate  conse- 
quences of  the  equal  division  of  estates  has  been,  to  create 
a  class  of  free  laborers.  As  soon  as  competition  began 
between  the  free  laborer  and  the  slave,  the  inferiority  of 
the  latter  became  manifest,  and  slavery  was  attacked  in 


PRESENT   AND  FUTURE   CONDITION   OF  THE  NEGROES.    471 

itsjundamental  principle,  which  is,  the  interest  of  the 

As  slavery  recedes,  the  black  population  follows  its  ret- 
rograde course,  and  returns  with  it  towards  those  tropica] 
regions  whence  it  originally  came.     However  singular  thi. 

Although  the  Americans  abolish  the  principle  of  slavery 
hey  do  not  set  their  slaves  free.     To  illustrate  this  remarY,' 

17««  r  V  '"'"'P^'  "^  '^'  ^'^'^  «f  ^^^  York.  In 
1788,  this  State  prohibited  the  sale  of  slaves  within  its 
limits,  which  was  an  mdirect  method  of  prohibitincr  the 
importation  of  them.  Thenceforward  the  number  of  nI 
groes  could  only  increase  according  to  the  ratio  of  the 
natural  mcrease  of  population.  But  eight  ears  later,  a 
more  decisive  measure  was  taken,  and  it  was  enacted  that 

17QQ    f'"ii  r/^  '^^^"  P^'""*^  ^^^^^  t^«  4th  of  July, 
1799,  should  be  free.     No  increase  could  then  take  place 

As  soon  as  a  Northern  State  thus  prohibited  the  impor- 
tation, no  slaves  were  brought  from  the  South  to  be  sold  in 
Its  markets.     On  the  other  hand,  as  the  sale  of  slaves  was 
forbidden  m  that  State,  an  owner  could  no  longer  get  rid 
of  his  slave  (who  thus  became  a  burdensome  possession) 
otherwise  than  by  transporting  him  to  the  South.     But 
when  a  Northern  State  declared  that  the  son  of  the  slave 
should  be  bom  free,  the  slave  lost  a  large  portion  of  his 
market-value,  since  his  posterity  was  no  longer  included 
n  the  bargain  and  the  owner  had  then  a  strong  interest  in 
transportmg  him  te  the  South.     Thus  the  same  law  pre- 
vents  the  slaves  of  the  South  from  coming  North,  and 
drives  those  of  the  North  to  the  South. 

But  there  is  anoriier  cause  more  powerful  than  any  that 
I  have  described.  The  wont  of  free  hands  is  felt  in  a  State 
m  proportion  as  the  number  of  slaves  decreases.     But  in 


mui 


472 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


proportion  as  labor  is  performed  by  free  hands,  slave-labor 
becomes  less  productive  ;  and  the  slave  is  then  a  useless  of 
onerous  possession,  whom  it  is  important  to  export  to  the 
South,  where  the  same  competition  is  not  to  be  feared. 
Thus  the  abolition  of  slavery  does  not  set  the  slave  free, 
but  merely  transfers  him  to  another  master,  and  from  the 
North  to  the  South. 

The  emancipated  Negroes,  and  those  bom  after  the  abo- 
lition of  slavery,  do  not,  indeed,  migrate  from  the  North  to 
the  South;  but  their  situation  with  regard  to  the  Euro- 
peans is  not  unlike  that  of  the  Indians ;  they  remain  half 
civilized,  and  deprived  of  their  rights  in  the  midst  of  a 
population  which  is  far  superior  to  them  in  wealth  and 
knowledge,  where  they  are  exposed  to  the  tyranny  of  the 
laws*  and  the  intolerance  of  the  people.  On  some  ac- 
counts they  are  still  more  to  be  pitied  than  the  Indians, 
since  they  are  haunted  by  the  reminiscence  of.  slavery,  and 
they  cannot  claim  possession  of  any  part  of  the  soil :  many 
of  them  perish  miserably,!  and  the  rest  congregate  in  the 
great  towns,  where  they  perform  the  meanest  offices,  and 
lead  a  wretched  and  precarious  existence. 

But  even  if  the  number  of  Negroes  continued  to  increase 
as  rapidly  as  when  they  were  still  in  slavery,  as  the  num- 
ber of  whites  augments  with  twofold  rapidity  after  the  abo- 
lition of  slavery,  the  blacks  would  soon  be,  as  it  were,  lost 
in  the  midst  of  a  strange  population. 

*  The  States  in  which  slavery  is  abolished  usually  do  what  they  can  to 
render  their  territory  disagreeable  to  the  Negroes  as  a  place  of  residence ; 
and  as  a  kind  of  emulation  exists  between  the  different  States  in  this  respect, 
the  unhappy  blacks  can  only  choose  the  least  of  the  evils  which  beset  them. 

t  There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  mortality  of  the  blacks  and  of 
the  whites  in  the  States  in  which  slavery  is  abolished;  from  1820  to  1831, 
only  one  out  of  forty-two  individuals  of  the  white  population  died  in  Phila- 
delphia ;  but  one  out  of  twenty-one  of  the  black  population  died  in  the  same 
time.  The  mortality  is  by  no  means  so  great  amongst  the  Negroes  who  aw 
still  slaves.     (See  Emerson's  Medical  Statistics,  p.  28.) 


PBESKKT  AND   FUTURE  CONDITION   OF  THE  NEGBOES.    473 

A  district  which  i5  cultivated  by  slaves  is  in  general  less 
popnious  than  a  district  cultivated  by  free  laborf  moreover 
America  .s  still  a  new  country,  and  a  State  is  therefore  no 
half  peopled  when  it  abolishes  slaveiy.     No  sooner  is  an 
end  put  to  slaveiy,  than  the  want  of  free  labor  is  felt,  and 
a  crowd  of  enterprising  adventnrei-s  immediately  arrive 
from  all  parts  of  the  countiy,  who  hasten  to  profit  by  the 
fresh  resour.es  which  are  then  opened  to  indust,y.  "^The 
sol  ,s  soon  divided  amongst  them,  and  a  family  of  white 
settlers  takes  possession  of  each  portion.     Besides,  Euro- 
TwhT'^'^S"  ■' ^-^^'"^'^'y  Ji'^eted  to  the  free  States; 
for  what  would  a  poor  emigrant  do  who  crosses  the  Atlan- 
tic m  search  of  ease  and  happiness,  if  he  were  to  landTn 
a  country  where  labor  is  stigmatized  as  degrading' 
and  Jif '  -•■"«  population  grows  by  its  natural  increase, 

tliiM    Tl        '  ^^  ""'  ''"™™^^  »fl"^  of  emigrants 
whJst  the  b  ack  population  receives  no  emigrantsrand  i 
upon  Its  decline.     The  proportion  which  exifed  betwee; 
the  two  races  is  soon  inverted.     The  Negroes  constitute  a 
scanty  remnant,  a  poor  tribe  of  vagi^nts,  lost  in  the  midst 

of  the  blacks  IS  only  marked  by  the  injustice  and  the  hard- 
ships  of  which  they  are  the  victims. 

In  several  of  the  Western  States,  the  Negro  race  never 
made  Its  appearance  ;  and  in  all  the  Northern  States,  it  is 
rapidly  dechning.  Thus  the  great  question  of  its  fo.ure 
condition  IS  confined  within  a  narrow  circle,  where  it  be- 
comes less  formidable,  though  not  more  easy  of  solution. 
I  he  more  we  descend  towards  the  South,  the  more  difli. 
cult  does  It  become  to  abolish  slavery  with  advantage;  and 
his  arises  from  several  physical  causes  which  it  is  import 
tant  to  point  out.  ^ 

The  first  of  these  causes  is  the  climate:  it  is  well  known 
that  m  proportion  as  Europeans  approach  the  tropics,  la- 
bor becomes  more  difficult  to  them.     Many  of  the  Amcri- 


"W 


Ni 


474 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


cans  even  assert  that,  within  a  certain  latitude,  it  is  fata!  to 
them,  while  the  Negroes  can  work  there  without  danger ;  * 
but  I  do  not  think  that  this  opinion,  which  is  so  favorable 
to  the  indolence  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  South,  is  con- 
firmed by  experience.  The  southern  parts  of  the  Union 
are  not  hotter  than  the  south  of  Italy  and  of  Spain ;  f  and 
it  may  be  asked  why  the  European  cannot  work  as  well 
there  as  in  the  latter  two  countries.  If  slavery  has  been 
abolished  in  Italy  and  in  Spain,  without  causing  the  de- 
struction of  the  masters,  why  should  not  the  same  thine* 
take  place  in  the  Union  ?  I  cannot  believe  that  Nature 
has  prohibited  the  Europeans  in  Georgia  and  the  Floridas, 
under  pain  of  death,  from  raising  the  means  of  subsistence 
from  the  soil;  but  their  labor  would  unquestionably  be 
more  irksome  and  less  productive  J  to  them  than  to  the  in- 
habitants of  New  Engla-.d.  As  the  free  workman  thus 
loses  a  portion  of  his  superiority  over  the  slave  in  the 
Southern  States,  there  are  fewer  inducements  to  abolish 
slavery. 

All  the  plants  of  Europe  grow  in  the  northern  parts  of 
the  Union ;  the  South  has  special  productions  of  its  own. 
It  has  been  observed  that  slave  labor  is  a  very  expensive 

*  This  is  true  of  the  spots  in  which  rice  is  cultivated ;  rice-grounds,  which 
are  unwholesome  in  all  countries,  are  particularly  dangerous  in  those  regions 
which  are  exposed  to  the  beams  of  a  tropical  sun.  Europeans  would  not 
find  it  easy  to  cultivate  the  soil  in  that  part  of  the  New  World,  if  it  must 
necessarily  be  made  to  produce  rice ;  but  may  they  not  subsist  witliout  rice- 
bounds  ? 

t  These  States  are  nearer  to  the  equator  than  Italy  and  Spain,  but  the 
temperature  of  the  continent  of  America  is  much  lower  than  that  of  Eu- 
rope. 

t  The  Spanish  government  formerly  caused  a  certain  number  of  peasants 
from  the  Azores  to  be  transported  into  a  district  of  Louisiaaa  called  Attaka- 
pas,  by  way  of  experiment.  These  settlers  still  cultivate  the  soil  without 
the  assistance  of  slaves,  but  their  industry  is  so  languid  as  scarcely  to  sup- 
ply their  most  necessary  wants. 


PBESENT  AND  FUTUBE  OONDITrOK  OF  THE  NEGROES.  475 

method  of  cultivating  cereal  grain.  The  farmer  of  corn- 
land,  m  a  country  where  slaver,,  is  unknown,  habitually 
retains  only  a  sma  1  number  of  laborers  in  his  service,  and 
at  seed-tnne  and  harvest  he  hires  additional  hands,  who 
only  hye  at  ns  cost  for  a  short  period.  But  the  agricul- 
turist in  a  slave  state  is  obliged  to  keep  a  large  number  of 
Tth  t  '"■■  "T'^  '"  "'''''  '"  --his  fields  and 

onlj  for  a  few  weeks;  for  slaves  are  unable  to  wait  till 
they  are  hired,  and  to  subsist  by  their  own  labor  in  the 
mean  time,  hke  free  laborers;  in  order  to  have  their  st 
vices,  hey  must  be  bought.  Slavciy,  independently  of  its 
gen-al  disadvantages,  is  therefore  still  mor.' inappl^le  to 
countries  m  which  com  is  cultivated,  than  to  those  which 
produce  crops  of  a  different  kind.     The  cultivation  of  Z 

on  the  other  hand,  unremitting  attention:  and  women  and 
in  the  cultivation  of  wheat.     Thus  slavery  is  naturally 
arrdfri^d.'"  '^'  '"'"''"^  '™'"  ^''■^''  ""^  P^"-*'- 
Tobacco,   cotton,  and   the   sugar-cane  are  exclusively 
grown  m  the  South,  and  they  form  the  principal  so^rce^ 
of  the  ,vealth  of  those  States.     If  slaveiy  were  abolished 
the  mhabitants  of  the  South  would  be  driven  to  this  liter 
native:  they  must  either  change  their  system  of  c„W 
t.on,-and  then  they  would  come  into  competition  with 
the  more  active  and  more  experienced  inhabitants  of  the 

dl     -7'  f  *«y  r"""^''  '"  ™"™'«  *«  «ame  pro- 
duce without  slave  labor,  they  would  have  to  support  the 

competition  of  the  other  States  of  the  South,  which  migh 

tdl  retain  their  slaves.     Thus,  peculiar  i^asons  for  main- 

•mthTNorr  '^''  '"  "^  '""*  ^""''^  '"  -'  "P-*' 
But  there  is  yet  another  motive,  which  is  more  cogent 


i    M 


i  i , 


476 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


than  all  the  others :  the  South  might,  indeed,  rigorously 
speaking,  abolish  slavery ;  but  how  should  it  rid  its  terri- 
tory of  the  black  population  ?  Slaves  and  slaveiy  are 
driven  from  the  North  by  the  same  law  ;  but  this  two- 
fold result  cannot  be  hoped  for  in  the  South. 

In  proving  that  slavery  is  more  natural  and  more  advan- 
tageous in  the  South  than  in  the  North,  I  have  shown  that 
the  number  of  slaves  must  be  far  greater  in  the  former. 
It  was  to  the  soutiiern  settlements  that  the  first  Africans 
were  brought,  and  it  is  there  that  the  greatest  number  of 
them  have  always  been  imported.  As  we  advance  towards 
the  South,  the  prejudice  which  sanctions  idleness  increases 
in  power.  In  the  States  nearest  to  the  tropics,  there  is 
not  a  single  wliite  laborer ;  the  Negroes  are  consequently 
much  more  numerous  in  the  South  than  in  the  North. 
And,  as  I  have  already  observed,  tliis  disproportion  in- 
creases daily,  since  iiie  Negroes  are  transferred  to  one  part 
of  the  Union  as  soon  as  slavery  is  abolished  in  the  otlier. 
Thus,  the  black  population  augments  in  the  South,  not 
only  by  its  natural  fecundity,  but  by  the  compulsory  emi- 
gration of  the  Negroes  from  the  North ;  and  the  African 
race  has  causes  of  increase  in  the  South  very  analogous  to 
those  which  accelerate  the  growth  of  the  JEuropean  race 
in  the  North. 

In  the  State  of  Maine  there  is  one  Negro  in  three  hun- 
dred inhabitants;  in  Massachusetts,  one  in  one  hundred; 
in  New  York,  two  in  one  hundred ;  in  Pennsylvania,  three 
in  the  same  number ;  in  Maryland,  thirty-four ;  in  Vir- 
ginia, forty-two ;  and  lastly,  in  South  Carolina,*  fifty-five 

*  "Wc  find  it  asserted  in  an  Amerian  work,  entitled  "  Letters  on  the  Colo- 
nization Society,"  by  Mr.  Carey,  1833,  "That  for  the  last  forty  years,  the 
black  race  has  increased  more  rapidly  than  the  white  race  in  the  State  of 
South  Carolina ;  and  that,  if  we  take  the  average  population  of  the  five  States 
of  the  South  into  which  slaves  were  first  introduced,  viz.  Maryhuid,  Vir- 
ginia, South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  we  shall  find  tliai  from 


P8ESENT  AND  ruTUBE  CONmnON  OF  THE  NEG«OES.    477 


per  cent  of  the  inhabitants  are  black      <!„.l, 

portion  of  the  black  popula.iont  the  ."tsT  Z  ,C 

e—f/aetr r :  zt:^''  ^---^  -  ^' 

South.  '  "^""^  augments  in   tlie 

It  is  evident  tl.at  the  most  southern  States  of  the  TTnIn 

and   .ettmg   their  descendants  free;   by  this  moans    thn 
Negroes  a.  „„,,  g,,a„,„^  ,.„.^„,;^^/,_^h,s„^^^^^^^^^ 

and  wlulst  the  men  who  might  abuse  their  fi-eedom  E^ 
kept  .n  servtude,  those  who  are  emancipated  may"ear„ 
he  art  of  be.ng  free  before  they  become  th'eir  own  master" 
But  ,t  would  be  difficult  to  apply  this  method  in  the  C  ' 
To  dedare  that  all  the  Negroes  bom  after  a  certain  p:^' d 
sM  be  free,  ,s  to  mtroduce  the  principle  and  the  notion 

law  thus  maintams  ,n  a  state  of  slavery  from  which  their 

and  their  astonishment  is  only  the  prelude  to  their  !m 
patience  and  irritation.     Thenceforwrrd  Zlly    ZZ 

heir  ,,es  t  at  kmd  of  mo«l  power  which  it  derived  from 
ume  and  hab^;  u  ,3     d„,,d  to  a  mere  palpable  abuse  o 
foice.     The  Northern  States  had  nothing  to  fear  from  the 
contras  ,  because  in  them  the  blacks  we^e  few  in  numbe 
and  the  white  population  was  very  considerable.     But  if 

1790  10  1830  the  while,  have  aupnemed  in  ,he  pmpo„i„„  rf  so  ,0  100  and 
the  blacks  m  tliat  of  100  to  112.  00  u  iw,  anu 

follows  •1''""''  ^'''"'  "  '''''  '"  P''P"''^''«°  «^  ^'-  ^-«  -CCS  stood  a. 

States   where  slavery  is  abolished,  6,565.434  whites;    1.20,520  bla^-ka 
Slave  States  3,960,814  whites;   2.208,102  bla<;ks. 


!  ).:.::  It: 


478 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


this  faint  dawn  of  freedom  were  to  show  two  millions  of 
men  their  true  position,  the  oppressors  would  have  reason 
to  tremble.  After  having  enfranchised  the  childi-en  of  their 
slaves,  the  Europeans  of  the  Southern  States  would  very 
shortly  be  obliged  to  extend  the  same  benefit  to  the  whole 
black  population. 

In  the  North,  as  I  have  already  remarked,  a  twofold 

migration  ensues  upon  the  abolition  of  slavery,  or  even 

precedes  that  event  when  circumstances  have  rendered  it 

probable  ;    the  slaves  quit  the  country  to  be  transported 

southwards ;  and  the  whites  of  the  Northern  States,  as  well 

as  the  emigrants  from  Europe,  hasten  to  fill  their  place. 

But  these  two  causes  cannot  operate  in  the  same  manner 

in  the  Southern  States.     On  the  one  hand,  the  mass  of 

slaves  is  too  great  to  allow  any  expectation  of  their  hema 

removed  from  the  country;  and  on  the  other  hand,  the 

Europeans  and  Anglo-Americans  of  the  North  are  afraid 

to  come  to  inhabit  a  country  in  which  labor  has  not  yet 

been  reinstated  in  its  rightfiil  honors.     Besides,  they  very 

justly  look  upon  the  States  in  which  the  number  of  the 

Negroes  equals  or  exceeds  that  of  the  whites,  as  exposed 

to  very  great  dangers ;  and  they  refrain  from  turning  their 

activity  in  that  direction. 

Thus  the  inhabitants  of  the  South  would  not  be  able, 
while  abolishing  slavery,  like  their  Northern  countrymen, 
to  initiate  the  slaves  gradually  into  a  state  of  freedom; 
they  have  no  means  of  perceptibly  diminishing  the  black 
population,  and  they  would  remain  unsupported  to  repress 
its  excesses.  Thus,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  a  great 
people  of  free  Negroes  would  exist  in  the  heart  of  a  white 
nation  of  equal  size. 

The  same  abuses  of  power  which  now  maintain  slavery 
would  then  become  the  source  of  the  most  alarming  perils 
to  the  white  population  of  the  South.  At  the  present 
time,  the  descendants  of  the  Europeans  are  the  sole  own- 


PHESEOT  AND  FUTURE  CONDITION  OF  THE   NEOBOES.    479 

7  Of  the  land,  and  the  absolute  mastera  of  all  labor  •  thev 

dt^iuroraiTtf"''";"'^"^^'"-'  ''™^-  ^'^  "-*i^ 
them  bii ' .  t:  iTr?;  ho"' '%  "*"''.  "'*°"' 
JO  provide  for  h.  o;„lt.teL  ;::ii  't;lK 

orhHf  ir  u  ™;y  ■"^'"•ments  of  the  present  superi- 
ority of  the  white,  whilst  slavery  exists,  expose  him  to  a 
thousand  dangers  if  it  were  abolished  ?  n™  *»  a 

As  long  as  the  Negro  remains  a  slave,  he  may  be  keot 

ut  w"h  hr.-b""'/"."""™''  *■-<""  *"  "f 'he  bru^eT 
bu^  with  hui  liberty,  he  cannot  but  acquire  a  dem-ee  of 

lortunes,  and  to  discern  a  remedy  for  them.    Moreover 
here  exists  a  singular  principle  of  relative  justice,  whTch 
«  fimdy  implanted  in  the  human  heart.     Men  a^  it 
mo^  forcibly  struck    by  those  inequalities  which  ^xfa 
withm   the  same  class,  than  with  Le  whilh   lyT 

Slavery ,  but  how  allow  several  milUons  of  citizens  to  exi^t 

n^T  M"1h:'rr  'f -^  ^'-^  -e.ditarrCtc s 
?.?■..  ^"  '■'^  .N""-*.  the  population  of  freed  Neeroes 
feels  these  hardships  and  indignities,  but  its  numbeXd 
...  power,  are  small,  whilst  in  the  South  it  wouU  b^ 
numerous  and  strong.  ^ 

As  soon  as  it  is  admitted  that  the  whites  and  the  eman- 
cipated blacks  are  placed  upon  the  same  temtor^  i„Te 
situation  of  two  foreign  communities,  it  will  reTd  ,v  be 
undo^tood  that  there  are  but  two  chances  for  thefoture 

the  Negroes  and  the  whites  must  either  wholly  part    ;; 
who,,  ,,.     I  h^^^  y  part,  or 

as  to  the  latter  event.-    I  do  not  believe  th[t  the  whUo 
Uu-^rtitTt^iT^f  ''""'"'"'-  taSni-cI^  weigh*,  *a„  ^y. 

..1 'Nir;:r;,xr.i:'rjr:r^r  £■ 


'!   ''■  W 


I  ) 


'liH,  ,. 


480 


DKMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


and  black  races  will  ever  live  in  any  country  upon  an 
equal  footing.  But  I  believe  the  ditKculty  to  be  still 
oreater  in  the  United  States  than  elsewhere.  An  isolated 
individual  may  surmount  the  prejudices  of  religion,  of  his 
country,  or  of  his  race ;  and  if  this  individual  is  a  kino-, 
he  may  effect  surprising  oiir. nges  in  society ;  but  a  whole 
people  cannot  rise,  as  it  were,  above  itself.  A  despot  who 
should  subject  th<3  Americans  and  their  former  slaves  to 
the  same  yoke,  might  perhaps  succeed  in  commino-lincr 
their  races ;  but  as  long  as  the  American  democracy 
remains  at  the  head  of  affairs,  no  one  will  undertake 
so  difficult  a  task ;  and  it  may  be  foreseen  that,  the  freer 
the  white  i)oi)ulation  of  the  United  States  becomes,  the 
more  isolated  will  it  remain.* 

I  have  previously  observed  that  the  mixed  race  is  the 
true  bond  of  union  between  the  Europeans  and  the  In- 
dians ;  just  so,  the  Mulattoes  are  the  true  means  of  transi- 
tion between  the  white  and  the  Negro ;  so  that,  wherever 
Mulattoes  abound,  the  intermixture  of  the  two  races  is  not 
impossible.  In  some  parts  of  America,  the  European  and 
the  Negro  races  are  so  crossed  by  one  another,  that  it  is 
rare  to  meet  with  a  man  who  is  entirely  black,  or  entirely 
white :  Avhen  they  are  arrived  at  this  point,  the  two  races 
may  really  be  said  to  be  combined,  or,  rather,  to  have  been 
absorbed  in  a  third  race,  which  is  connected  with  both 
without  being  identical  with  either. 

Of  all  Europeans,  the  English  are  those  who  have 
mixed  least  with  the  Negroes.     More  Mulattoes  are  to  be 


emancipation  of  the  blacks ;  and  it  is  equally  certain,  that  the  two  races  will 
never  live  in  a  state  of  equal  freedom  under  the  same  government,  so  insur- 
mountable are  the  ban-iers  which  nature,  habit,  and  opinion  have  established 
between  them." 

*  If  the  British  West  India  planters  had  governed  themselves,  they  would 
assuredly  not  have  passed  the  Slave  Emancipation  Bill  which  the  mother 
country  has  recently  imposed  upon  them. 


mix  in  the  bouth  ?    Can  it  be  supposed  for  an  instant  th/t 
an  American  of  the  Southern  Siates    nla  J    Tl 
forever  be,  between  the  white  r^^'X^^i  ^  "l^T^ 
and  mora   superiority,  and  the  Negro,  will  eve    thi^  ^ 

Whert";'^':""  *^  '""^^^    ^ie  Amen-ea     of  .h 
Southern  States  have  two  powerful  passions,  which  will 
always  keep  them  aloof; -the  fi,.t  is  the  fear  "f  J,^! 
assimilated  to  the  Negroes,  their  for„,er  slave,     a„d    hf 

::A:  "^  -' ""'-' "'"-  *^  -^^^^ 

J!l  ^f'.^f'l^d  opon  to  predict  the  future,  I  should  sav 
that  the  abolition  of  slaveiy  i„  the  South  will,  in  the  cl 

analogous  observation  luV'^^.T^rZ^IZ^: 
I  have  remarked  that  the  white  inhabitants  of  the  Norti' 


«'■      ! 


482 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


h. 


the  South,  where  the  danger  would  be  real,  1  cannot 
believe  that  the  fear  would  be  less. 

If,  on  the  one  hand,  it  be  admitted  (and  the  fact  is  un- 
questionable) that  the  colored  population  perj)etually  accu- 
mulate in  the  extreme  South,  and  increase  more  rapidlv 
than  the  whites  ;  and  if,  on  the  other  hand,  it  be  allowed 
that  it  is  impossible  to  foresee  a  time  at  which  the  whites 
and  the  blacks  will  be  so  intermingled  as  to  derive  the 
same  benefits  from  society,  —  must  it  not  be  inferred  that 
the  blacks  and  the  whites  will,  sooner  or  later,  come  to 
(/pen  strife  in  the  Southern  States  ?  But  if  it  be  asked 
what  the  issue  of  the  struggle  is  likely  to  be,  it  will  readily 
be  understood  that  we  are  here  left  to  vague  conjectures. 
Tiie  human  mind  may  succeed  in  tracing  a  wide  circle,  as 
it  were,  which  includes  the  iuture  ;  but,  within  that  circle, 
chance  rules,  and  eludes  all  our  foresight.  In  every  pic- 
ture of  the  future  there  is  a  dim  spot  which  the  eye  of 
the  understanding  cannot  penetrate.  It  appears,  however, 
extremely  probable  that,  in  the  West  India  Islands,  the 
white  race  is  destined  to  be  subdued,  and,  upon  the  conti- 
nent, the  blacks. 

In  the  West  India  Islands,  the  white  planters  are  isolated 
amidst  an  immense  black  population  ;  on  the  continent,  the 
blacks  are  placed  between  the  ocean  and  an  innumerable 
people,  who  already  extend  above  them,  in  a  compact  mass, 
from  the  icy  confines  of  Canada  to  the  frontiers  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  from  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  to  the  shores 
of  the  Atlantic.  If  the  white  citizens  of  North  America 
remain  united,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  the  Negroes 
will  escape  the  destruction  which  menaces  them ;  they 
■must  be  subdued  by  want  or  by  the  sword.  But  the 
black  population  accumulated  along  the  coast  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  have  a  chance  of  success,  if  the  American  Union 
should  be  dissolved  when  the  struggle  between  the  two 
races  begins.      The  Federal  tie  once  broken,  the  people 


™-«T  .NO  .-UTU.K  COKn,T,OK  OP  T„K  KKCBO.S.    483 

are  constrained  t»  march  to  1 1  '  ""''  ""'™'  ""^r 

»  positive  obligatiori    mnv  t  r'"°"'',  °'  "'"  «»»"'  "-^ 
of  n.ce  will  bo  p„„.;L  ^  '''™  """  ""=  ^^P-^ 

wiSs  ort,:''s:i,rvr'i;';b ""'°  t  "'-"  »'•  '"^ 

own  resources,  wi„  Z^  LIZZC  "'""'"  '"  ""^'^ 
"ority  of  k„owlo<l..e  and  tL  1?  ^  """'™'°  '"P* 
J'aeks  .i„  ,,avc  nnrrlea,  Lri  tlT'  '»■'  *» 
despair  upon  tlieir  side  •  nnd  .1,..  "  ""'"'«)'  "^ 

to  men  who  have  taken  la™  t7  T'"^"'  "■"'"'=^' 
population  of  the  Southe  n  S  II  T  "  t  "^  •'"  "'"'^ 
to  that  of  the  Moo«    „  Sp  Tft  ^  "?"•  '-^  '™''" 

the  land  for  centuries  ,>  wS  ,  "''  '""'"'S  occupied 
to  the  country  whenc?;  '  '""■''°'"'  ''"*<'  ''X  degrees 

the  Negr„es^.e  poss  H*:  :f:fn ™""''r''  "'"""''"  '» 
seems  t^  have  fetiredrthemi':!  "'''"'■  '"'"''"''''"^^ 
labor  in  it  more  easily  than  ti.e "s       '  ""  "''^"'  ^"^ 

bwlhXntr'oftrSlh'T  ''■^  '^""^  -" '-» 

a  danger  which,  hoLv,; ':;t"Tt  'k  °'  ""  ^'"""- 
pe:petually  hauius  the  imaZ, In  7t,  '.  '"':"''"""'- 
a  painfid  dream      The  iTf  T  "'"  Americans,  like 

common  topic  rf  comerTat  'Tt  "'  "'^  ^"^^  "«*^  ■•'  a 
nothing  to  L  Lm"  btThe  ™f  '""'="-^  "'^^  '-« 
some  means  of  obriat  „'Ah  ""^r^'y  ^^eavor  to  devise 

-.  In  the  Son.  ert latl:  ZT^  •'''""''  "^^^  ^°- 
the  planter  does  not  rdlu^  J  tfi  f •""•  ''  ""'  '"^^^''^'^  = 
strangers  ;  he  does  not  7      "'^ft"""  '"  conversing  with 

his  friends  -he  seeks  to  e?'?''  ''"  "PP^''--™'  to 
there  is  sometl  i   "I;":,  ^X     ■\'"""  '''"'"'''■    «"' 
of  *e  South,  tha^  in  £  "Z^L' L^ Vt  tth"" '^ 
TT>.s  all-pervading  disquietude  has  given' So'    '  „„. 


484 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


dertaking  as  yet  but  little  known,  but  wbicli  may  change 
;tli€  fate  of  a  portion  of  the  human  race.  From  appre- 
ihension  of  the  dangers  which  I  have  just  described,  some 
American  citizens  have  formed  a  society  for  the  purpose 
of  exporting  to  the  coast  of  Guinea,  at  their  own  expense, 
fiuch  free  Negroes  as  may  be  willing  to  escape  from  the 
oppression  to  which  they  are  subject.* 

In  1820,  the  society  to  which  I  allude  formed  a  settle- 
ment in  Africa,  upon  the  seventh  degree  of  north  latitude, 
which  bears  the  name  of  Liberia.  The  most  recent  intelli- 
gence informs  us  that  two  thousand  five  hundred  Negroes 
are  collected  there.  They  have  introduced  the  democratic 
institutions  of  America  into  the  country  of  their  forefeth- 
ers.  Liberia  has  a  representative  system  of  government, 
Negro  jurymen,  Negro  magistrates,  and  Negro  priests ; 
churches  have  been  built,  newspapers  established,  and,  by 
a  singular  turn  in  the  vicissitudes  of  the  world,  white  men 
are  prohibited  from  establishing  themselves  within  the  set- 
tlement.! 

This  is  indeed  a  strange  caprice  of  fortune.  Two  hun- 
dred years  have  now  elapsed  since  the  inhabitants  of  Eu- 
rope undertook  to  tear  the  Negro  from  his  family  and  his 
home,  in  order  to  transport  him  to  the  shores  of  North 
America.  Now  the  European  settlers  are  engaged  in 
sending  back  the  descendants  of  those  very  Negroes  to 

«  This  society  assumed  the  name  of  "  The  Society  for  the  Colonization  of 
the  Blacks."  See  its  Annual  Reports ;  and  more  particularly  the  fifteenth. 
See  also  the  pamphlet,  to  which  allusion  has  already  been  made,  entitled, 
"  Letters  on  the  Colonization  Sociccy,  and  on  its  probable  ResuUs,"  by  Mr. 
Carey,  Philadelphia,  April,  1833. 

t  This  last  regulation  was  laid  down  by  the  founders  of  the  settlement ; 
they  apprehended  that  a  state  of  things  might  arise  in  Africa,  similar  to 
that  which  exists  on  the  frontiers  of  the  United  States,  and  that  if  the  Ne- 
groes, like  the  Indians,  were  brought  into  collision  with  a  people  more 
enlightened  than  themselves,  they  would  be  destroyed  before  they  could 
be  civilized. 


•"-ifrntr  1 


Pma.T  AM.  F«T«BE  CONDmON  OF  THE  NEG«OES.    484 


Ac  continent  whence  they  were  originallv  taken  •  ,),.  k 
has  heen  Cea  ..aJt  ^LltCro/rwl^"^ 

^sei;:zr::Lft[-r-rr~ 

with  regard  to  Africa  it  mn  off^  j  "^  ,  results 

World  ^'■'^  "°  ^^"^^^3^  t«  the  New 

space  of  ti^e,  abon.  seven  ufZt^Zl  u2  Zl 
born  m   the   United  States.      If  the  colonv  If  r  ^r 
were  able  to  receive  thousands  of  newthltal  f™ 

s:d"i:i!:.!frr-^  <— rtrtS 

u vantage,  it  the  Ijnion  were  to  supply  the  soriptv 
da.lyncreas.ng  .„  the  States.f      The  Negro  ..ee  tiU 

never  Lent  toTl^Teh  1.7'  '",'  ""  ""'  °'  *°  "«■>  "-■'" 
.hen,  b„.  lituc.    IfTh"  uln  r„w      ""     ■■  "  '""^''  *"  """'O  P""" 


jiiiiiji 
it 


m 


486 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


never  leave  those  shores  of  the  American  continent  to 
which  it  was  brought  by  the  passions  and  the  vices  of  Eu- 
ropeans ;  and  it  will  not  disappear  from  the  New  World 
as  long  as  it  continues  to  exist.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
United  States  may  retard  the  calamities  which  they  appre- 
hend, but  they  cannot  now  destroy  their  efficient  cause. 

I  am  obliged  to  confess  that  I  do  not  regard  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery  as  i  means  of  warding  off  the  struggle  of 
the  two  races  in  the  Southern  States.     The  Negroes  may 
long  remain  slaves  without  complaining;   but  if  they  are 
once  raised  to  the  level  of  freemen,  they  will  soon  revolt 
at  being  deprived  of  almost  all  their  civil  rights ;  and,  as 
they  cannot  become  the  equals  of  the  whites,  they  will 
speedily   show    themselves    as    enemies.      In    the   North, 
everything  facilitated  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves ;  and 
slavery  was  abolished  without  rendering  the  free  Negroes 
formidable,  since  tlieir  number  was   too  small  for  them 
ever  to  claim  their  rights.     But  such  is  not  the  case  in 
the  Soodi.      The  question  of  slavery  was   a  commercial 
and  manufacturing  question  for  the  slave-owners  m   the 
Nordi ;   for  those  of  the  South,  it  is  a  question  of  life 
and  deatl^.     God  forbid  that  I  should  seek  to  justify  the 
principle   of  Negro  slavery,  as  has  been  done  by  i^ome 
American   writers!      I   say  only,  that  all   the   countries 
which  formerly  adopted  that  execrable  principle  are  not 
equally  able  to  abandon  it  at  the  present  time. 

When  I  contemplate  the  condition  of  the  South,  I  can 
only  discover  two  modes  of  action  for  the  white  inhab- 
itants of  those  States ;  viz.  either  to  emancipate  the  Ne- 
groes, and  to  intermingle  with  th^m,  or,  remaining  isolated 
from  them,  to  keep  them  in  slavery  as  long  as  possible. 
All  intermediate  measures  seem  to  me  likely  to  terminate, 
and  that  shortly,  in  the  most  horrible  of  civil  wars,  and 

population  of  the  United  States  at  that  time.     [In  1850,  the  numbers  were 
3,204,313  slaves  and  434,495  free  colored;  in  a'l,  3,638,808.  —  Am.  Ed.] 


PSESOT  AM,  FUTUBE  CONDmON  OF  THE  NEGBOES,    487 

«ct'^  1"  t  '^'?'"^""  "^  °"^  "'  *'  "'her  of  the  two 
it     1^/    "•«  question,  and  they  act  consistently  ,vith 

nee!:::;i'^rtr„-^%tt:rt?™-  - 

many  of  them  am-ee  ^v\th  ih  '    x?     i      '  *^''   P*"'"*' 

evu'wi   p:y;t  •°''"""^''  .*"'   "-   -■"-'J   of  this 
wlJch  ririiffi     .  own   existence.      The  instruction 
wmch  IS  no*  diffiised  m  the  South  has  convinced   fh» 
nhab-tants  that  slavery  is  i„j„ri„„s  to  the  Ze-ownt 
but  U  has  also  shown  them,  more  clearly  than   before 
that  It  IS  almost  an  impossibility  to  get  rid  of  it      hI 
anses  a  singular  contrast ;  the  mo«l  "4  of  IZZ 
IS  contested  the  more  fi™ly  is  it  established  L  the  law? 
»d  whilst  .ts  principle  is  gnidually  abolished  in  the  N  7* 
Aat  seit-same  principle  gives  rise  to  more  ana  more  rlr 
ous  consequences  in  the  South.  ^ 

The  legislation  of  the  Southern  States  with  reoard  to 

^l  'XT  :'  t  ''T'  '''  ^"^'>  tinparalleleri  ! 
te  as  suffice  to  show  that  the  laws  of  humanity  have 

::rr  i?^^--'-"  ^^"^  -^^vZ 
hiTirintTT »"  "^^^  ^Stt: 

venTthH        ^      TY'  P'^^ttions  were  taken  to  pre- 
vent the  slave  from  breaking  his  chains,  at  the  preLnt 


I 


il!t  iS 


^88 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


'     'I 


(lay,  measures  are  adopted  to  deprive  him  even  of  the 
desire  of  freedom.  The  ancients  kept  the  bodies  of  their 
slaves  in  bondage,  but  placed  no  restraint  upon  the  mind 
and  no  check  upon  education  ;  and  they  acted  consistently 
with  their  established  principle,  since  a  natural  termination 
of  slavery  then  existed,  and  one  day  or  other  the  slavp 
might  be  set  free,  and  become  the  equal  of  his  master. 
But  the  Americans  of  the  South,  who  do  not  admit  that 
the  Negroes  can  ever  be  commingled  with  themselves, 
have  forbidden  them,  under  severe  penalties,  to  be  taught 
to  read  or  write ;  and,  as  they  will  not  raise  them  to  their 
own  level,  they  sink  them  as  nearly  as  possible  to  that  of 
the  brutes. 

The  hope  of  liberty  had  always  been  allowed  to  the 
slave,  to  cheer  the  hardships  of  his  condition.  But  the 
Americans  of  the  South  are  well  r  ware  that  emancipation 
cannot  but  be  dangerous,  when  the  freed  man  can  never 
be  assimilated  to  his  former  master.  To  give  a  man  his 
freedom,  and  to  leave  him  in  wretchedness  and  ignominy, 
is  nothing  less  than  to  prepare  a  fiiture  chief  for  a  revolt 
of  the  slaves.  Moreover,  it  has  long  been  remarked,  that 
the  presence  of  a  free  Negro  vaguely  agitates  the  minds 
of  his  less  fortunate  brethren,  and  conveys  to  them  a  dim 
notion  of  their  rights.  The  Americans  of  the  South  have 
consequently  taken  away  from  slave-owners  the  right  of 
emancipating  their  slaves  in  most  cases,— not  indeed  by 
positive  prohibition,  but  by  subjecting  that  step  to  various 
formalities  which  it  is  difficult  to  comply  with. 

I  happened  to  meet  with  an  old  man,  in  the  South  of 
the  Union,  who  had  lived  in  illicit  intercourse  with  one 
of  his  Negresses,  and  had  had  several  children  by  her, 
who  were  born  the  slaves  of  their  father.  He  had,  indeed, 
frequently  thought  of  bequeathing  to  them  at  least  their 
liberty ;  but  years  had  elapsed  before  he  could  surmount 
the  legal  obstacles  to  their  emancipation,  and  in  the  mean 


PHKSEHT  AKD  .UTDBK  COKDmON  OF  IHK  NKGBOES.    48!) 

of  the  stranger,  until  thesp  hnr^A       I-  •  ^^  *^^  '"'''^ 

was  a  prey  to  aU  tl.e  anguish  Tf  despair  1^7.?^'  ' 
dorstood  how  awful  is  the'Wtribution  of  W  unon  V"" 
who  have  broken  her  laws.  P""  ""^^ 

These  evils  are  unquestionablv  ereat  h„t  tl.o 
necessary  and  foreseen  consequencrof  th!        ^  "•'''  •","' 
of  modem  slavery.      Wherthe   F  I  ''™"'P''' 

slaves   fron.    a   raTe   d^er^;  t.f  ZrTw;'"^  tt 
many  of  them  considered  af  i,..erior  to  thr  »r 

interest  and  their  nn'rJo    ««  i      x^.  •  -^  "leir 

Hrst  violated  eve«t  of  t  >  TT'™'  ^^''"'^ 
of  the  Netrro  W  f  ''^'"^^""y  ^y  their  treatment 
r  tne  JNegro,  and  they  afterwards  inforr  1  him  that 
hose  „ghts  were  precious  and  inviolable.  They  affectd 
to  open  the.r  runks  to  the  slaves,  but  the  Nelc^s  whf 
attempted  to  penetrate  into  the  community  w^  driven 
back  w«h  scorn;  and  they  have  incautionsi  ^d  i"v7 
untanly  been  led  to  admit  freedom  inst  J  o7  slaved 
wuhout^  Wng  the  cou^ge  to  be  wholly  l^,^^ 

American!  7Zf  '"  "H"^'^  "  ^"'>^  "t  which  the 
Americans  of  the  hon  r.  will  mingle  their  blood  with  that 

of  the  Negroes,  can  ti.ey  allow  then,  slaves  to  become  fret 


490 


DEMOCBACY  IN  AMERICA. 


without  compromising  their  own  security  ?  And  if  they 
are  obliged  to  keep  that  race  in  bondage  in  ordei  to  save 
their  own  families,  may  they  not  be  excused  for  availing 
themselves  of  the  means  best  adapted  to  that  end  ?  The 
events  which  are  taking  place  in  the  Southern  States  ap- 
pear to  me  to  be  at  once  the  most  horrible  and  the  most 
natural  results  of  slavery.  When  I  see  the  order  of  nature 
overthrown,  and  when  I  hear  the  cry  of  humanity  in  its 
vain  struggle  against  the  laws,  my  indignation  does  not 
light  upon  the  men  of  our  own  time  who  are  the  instru- 
ments of  these  outrages  ;  but  I  reserve  my  execration  for 
those  who,  after  a  thousand  years  of  freedom,  brought 
back  slavery  into  the  world  once  more. 

Whatever  may  be  the  efforts  of  the  Americans  of  the 
South  to  maintain  slavery,  they  will  not  always  succeed. 
Slavery,  now  confined  to  a  single  tract  of  the  civilized 
earth,  attacked  by  Christianity  as  unjust,  and  by  political 
economy  as  prejudicial,  and  now  contrasted  with  demo- 
cratic liberty  and  the  intelligence  of  our  age,  cannot  sur- 
vive. By  the  act  of  the  master,  or  by  the  will  of  the 
slave,  it  will  cease ;  and,  in  either  case,  great  calamities 
may  be  expected  to  ensue.  If  liberty  be  refused  to  the 
Negroes  of  the  South,  they  will,  in  the  end,  forcibly 
seize  it  for  themselves  ;  if  it  be  given,  they  will,  erelong, 
abuse  it. 


CHANCES  OF  DURATION  OF  THE  UNION.  491 

WHAT  ARE  THE  CHANCES  OF  DURATION  OF  THE   AMERICAN 
UNION,    AND   WHAT   DANGERS   THREATEN   j^^^^'^'"^^ 

m^t  makes  the  prepondemnt  Force  lie  in  the  States  rather  than  in  the 

belong  to  It.  -  Causes  which  tend  to  keep  them  united.  -  UtiUty  of  the 
Umon  to  resist  foreign  Enemies,  and  to  exclude  Foreigner  from  Am 
ica  -No  natural  Barriers  between  the  several  States  -  No  confltdc 
Interes^  to  divide  them.  -  Reciprocal  Interests  of  the  NortZ  Solth 

Sins       r  '^nT'^""^^^^  ^'^^  °^  Union.-Unrmt  '■ 

teZnTrP  "^'"  '  *''  ''"''°  '''''''^^  '''^  '"^^  ^'ff--'  Charac- 
ters and  the  Passions  of  its  Citizens.  -  Character  of  the  Citizens  in  the 
South  and  m  the  North.  -  The  rapid  Growth  of  the  Union  one  of  L 
greatest  Dangers.  -  Progress  of  the  Population  to  the  NortW - 
Power  gravitates  m  the  same  Direction. -Passions  originating  from 
udden  Turns  of  Fortune.  -  Whether  the  existing  GoveLent  of  "e 

•    Br    -  \°  •'^^.^^™P«'^«~-  -  Wa^te  Lands.  -  Indians.  _  The 
Jsanlc.  —  The  Tariff.  —  General  Jackson. 

The  maintenance  of  the  existing  institutions  of  the  sev- 
eral  States  depends  in  pait  upon  the  maintenance  of  the 
Umon   Itself.     We  must  therefore   first   inquire  into  the 
probable  fate  of  the  Union.     One  point  may  be  assumed 
at  once :   if  the  present  confederation  were  dissolved    it 
appears  to  me  to  be  incontestable  that  the  States  of  which 
It  IS  now  composed  would  not  return  to  their  oiighial  iso. 
lated  condidon,  but  that  several  Unions  would  then  be 
formed  m  the  place  of  one.     It  is  not  my  intention  to  ir- 
qmre  mto  the  pnnciples  upon  which  these  new  Unions 
would  probably  be  established,  but  merely  to  show  what 
the  causes  are  which  may  effect  the  dismemberment  of  the 
existing  confederation. 

With  this  object  I  shall  be  obliged  to  retrace  some  of 

he  steps  which   I  have  already  taken,  and  to  revert  to 

opics  which  I  have  before  discussed.     I  ^  aware  that 

he  reader  may  accuse  me  of  repetition,  but  the  impor» 

tance  of  the  matter  which  still  remains  to  be  treated  is  my 


m 


\\m  • 


192 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


wM 


excuse :  I  had  rather  say  too  much,  than  not  be  thoroughly 
understood  ;  and  I  prefer  injuring  the  author  to  slighting 
the  subject. 

The  legislators  who  formed  the  Constitution  of  1789 
endeavored  to  confer  a  separate  existence  and  superior 
strength  upon  the  federal  power.  But  they  were  con- 
fined by  the  conditions  of  the  task  which  they  had  under- 
taken to  perform.  Tliey  were  not  appointed  to  constitute 
the  government  of  a  single  people,  but  to  regulate  the 
association  of  several  States ;  and,  whatever  their  inclma- 
tions  might  be,  they  could  not  but  divide  the  exercise  of 
sovereignty. 

In  order  to  understand  the  consequences  of  this  division, 
it  is  necessary  to  make  a  short  distinction  between  the 
fiinctions  of  government.     There  are  some  objects  which 
are  national  by  their  very  nature,  —  that  is  to  say,  which 
affect  the  nation  as  a  whole,  and  can  only  be  intrusted' 
to  the  man  or  the  assembly  of  men  who  most  completely 
represent  the  entire  nation.     Amongst  these  may  be  reck- 
oned war  and  diplomacy.     There  are  other  objects  which 
are  provincial  by  their  very  natur  e,  —  that  is  to  say,  which 
only  affect  certain  localities,  and  which  can  only  be  prop- 
erly treated  in  that  locality.     Such,  for  instance,  is  the 
budget  of  a  municipality.      Lastly,  there  are  objects  of 
a  mixed  nature,  which  are  national  inasmuch  as  they  affect 
all  the  citizens  who  compose  the  nation,  and  which  are 
provmcial  inasmuch  as  it  is  not  necessary  that  the  nation 
itself  should  provide  for  them  all.      Such  are  the  rights 
which  regulate  the  civil  and  poHtical  condition  of  the  citi- 
zens.     No   society  can  exist  without  civil   and   political 
rights.     These  rights,  therefore,  interest  all  the  citizens 
alike ;  but  it  is  not  always  necessary  to  the  existence  and 
the  prosperity  of  the  nation  that  these  rights  should  be 
uniform,  nor,  consequently,  that  they  should  be  regulated 
by  the  central  authority. 


CHANCES   OF  DURATION   OF  THE   UNION. 


There  are  then,  two  distinct  categories  of  objects  which 
are  submitted  to  the  sovereign  power;  and  these  are  found 
m  all  well-constituted  communities,  whatever  may  be  the 
basis  of  the  political  constitution.  Between  these  two 
extremes  the  objects  which  I  have  termed  mixed  may  be 
considered  to  lie.  As  these  are  neither  exclusively  national 
nor  entirely  provincial,  the  care  of  them  may  be  given  to 
a  national  or  a  provincial  government,  according  to  the 
agreement  of  the  contracting  parties,  without  in  any  way 
impamng  the  object  of  association. 

The  sovereign  power  is  usually  formed  by  the  union 
of  individuals,  who  compose  a  people;  and  individual 
powers  or  collective  forces,  each  representing  a  small 
traction  of  the  sovereign,  are  the  only  elements  which  are 
tound  under  the  general  government.  In  this  case,  the 
general  government  is  more  naturally  called  upon  to  regu- 
late, not  only  those  affairs  which  are  essentially  national, 
but  most  of  those  which  I  have  called  mixed;  and  th'^ 
local  governments  are  reduced  to  that  small  share  of 
sovereign  authority  which  is  indispensable  to  their  well- 
bemff. 

But  sometimes  the  sovereign  authority  is  composed  of 
pre-organized  political  bodies,  by  virtue  of  circumstances 
anterior  to  their  union;  and,  in  this  case,  the  provincial 
governments  assume  the  control,  not  only  of  those  affairs 
which  more  peculiarly  belong  to  them,  but  of  all  or  a  pait 
of  the  mixed  objects  in  question.  For  the  confederate  na- 
tions, which  were  independent  sovereignties  before  their 
union,  and  which  still  represent  a  considerable  share  of 
the  sovereign  power,  have  consented  to  cede  to  the  gen- 
eral goyemment  the  exercise  only  of  those  rights  which 
are  indispensable  to  the  Union. 

When  the  national  government,  independently  of  the 
prerogatives  inherent  in  its  nature,  is  invested  with  the 
right   of  regulating  the  mixed  objects  of  sovereignty,  it 


:!  m\i 


494 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


possesses  a  preponderant  influence.  Not  only  are  its  own 
rights  extensive,  but  all  the  rights  which  it  does  not  pos- 
sess exist  by  its  sufFerance ;  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the 
provincial  governments  may  be  deprived  by  it  of  their 
natural  and  necessary  prerogatives. 

When,  on  the  other  hand,  the  provincial  governments 
are  invested  with  the  power  of  regulating  those  same  af- 
fairs of  mixed  interest,  an  opposite  tendency  prevails  in 
society.  The  preponderant  force  resides  in  the  province, 
not  in  the  nation  ;  and  it  may  be  apprehended  that  the 
national  government  may,  in  the  end,  be  stripped  of  the 
privileges  which  are  necessary  to  its  existence. 

Single  nations  have  therefore  a  natural  tendency  to  cen- 
tralization, and  confederations  to  dismemberment. 

It  now  remains  to  apply  these  general  principles  to  the 
American  Union.     The  several  States  necessarily  retained 
the  right  of  regulating  all  purely  provincial  affairs.     More- 
over, these  same  States  kept  the  rights  of  determining  the 
civil  and  political  competency  of  the  citizens,  of  regulatincr 
the  reciprocal  relations  of  the  members  of  the  community, 
and  of  dispensing  justice,  —  rights  which  are  general  in 
their  nature,  but  do  not  necessarily  appertain  to  the  na- 
tional governmeiit.     We  have  seen  that  the  government 
of  the  Union  is  invested  with  the  power  of  acting  in  the 
name  of  the  whole  nation,  in  those  cases  in  which  the  na- 
tion has  to  appear  as  a  single  and  undivided  power ;  as, 
for  instance,  in  foreign  relations,  and  in  offering  a  common 
resistance  to  a  common  enemy;  in  short,  in  conducting 
those  affairs  which  I  have  styled  exclusively  national. 

In  this  division  of  the  rights  of  sovereignty,  the  share 
of  the  Union  seems  at  first  sight  more  considerable  than 
that  of  the  States,  but  a  more  attentive  investigation  shows 
it  to  be  less  so.  The  undertakings  of  the  government  of 
the  Union  are  more  vast,  but  it  has  less  frequent  occasion 
to  act  at  all.     Those  of  the  provincial  governments  aie 


ChANCES   OF  DURATION   OF  THE  UNION.  406 

comparatively  small,  but  they  are  incessant,  and  they  keen 
alive  the  authority  which  they  represent  XT '"^^  ^^^P 
menf  nf  ♦v,^  TT  •  ,  "^  '^present,     ihe  govern- 

ment  of  the  Union  watches  over  the  general  interests  of 
the  country;  but  the  general  interests  of  a  people  have  hut 
a  questionable  influence  upon  individual  hap^hTess  wht 
provincial  interests  produce  an  immediate  effelt  u'  n  tt 
welfeie  of  the  inhabimnts.  The  Union  socurls  the Tnd 
pendence  and  the  greatness  of  the  nation  whch  do  „t 
nnmediately  aflect  private  citizens;  but  th  sve^l  State 
mamtain  the  l.berty,  regulate  the  rights,  protect  thetr 

:r:;;^c:r '"- ''  -<■  *«  --' « «---  p4:%: 

iec'!s''\!n'!r^  S"™™"™'  '»  '^  '™<>™d  from  its  sub 
S  J     1    n  ''T"""'  e<"™"""™«'  are  within  the 

passions  .fa  tew  superior  men  who  aspire  to  conduct  it  • 

interests  o  all  those  second-rate  individuals  who  can  onlv 
hope  to  obtain  power  within  their  own  State,  Td  „"o 
nevertheless  exercise  more  authority  over  the  people  b^ 
cause  they  are  nearer  to  them.  ^'^ 

The  Americans  have,  therefore,  much  more  to  hope  and 
to  fear  from  the  States  than  from  the  Union  ;  and,  acc^rd- 
.ng  to  the  natural  tendency  of  the  human  mind,  thev  an, 
more  hkely  to  attach  themselves  strongly  to  the  foLe" 
«.an  to  the  latter  I„  this  respect,  theS  habits  and  TI 
ings  harmonize  with  their  interests. 

When  a  compact  nation  divides  its  sovereigntv  and 
adopts  a  confederate  form  of  government,  the  StioTs 
the  customs  and  the  manners  of  the  people  for  a  W  Ze 
struggle  against  the  laws,  and  give  an  influence  to  th!  ce"! 
^al  government  which  the  laws  forbid.  But  when  a  num- 
ber of  confederate  states  unite  to  form  a  single  nation,  the 
wme  causes  operate  in  an  opposite  direction      I  have  no 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEKSTER.N.Y.  14580 

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%>    .    .^0, 


496 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


1 


doubt  that,  if  France  were  to  become  a  confederate  repub^ 
lie  like  that  of  the  United  States,  the  government  would 
at  first  be  more  energetic  than  that  of  the  Union ;  and  if 
the  Union  were  to  alter  its  constitution  to  a  monarchy  like 
that  of  France,  I  think  that  the  American  government 
would  long  remain  weaker  than  the  French.  When  the 
national  existence  of  the  Anglo-Americans  began,  their 
provincial  existence  was  already  of  long  standing :  neces- 
sary relations  were  established  between  the  townships  and 
the  individual  citizens  of  the  same  States  ;  and  they  were 
accustomed  to  consider  some  objects  as  common  to  them 
all,  and  to  conduct  other  affairs  as  exclusively  relating  to 
their  own  special  interests. 

The  Union  is  a  vast  body,  which  presents  no  definite 
object  to  patriotic  feeling.  The  forms  and  limits  of  the 
state  are  distinct  and  circumscribed,  since  it  represents 
a  certain  number  of  objects  which  are  familiar  to  the  citi- 
zens, and  dear  to  them  all.  It  is  identified  with  the  soil ; 
with  the  right  of  property  and  the  domestic  affections; 
with  the  recollections  of  the  past,  the  labors  of  the  pres- 
ent, and  the  hopes  of  the  future.  Patriotism,  then,  which 
js  frequently  a  mere  extension  of  individual  selfishness,  is 
still  directed  to  the  State,  and  has  not  passed  over  to  the 
Union.  Thus,  the  tendency  of  the  interests,  the  habits, 
and  the  feelings  of  the  people  is  to  centre  political  activity 
in  the  States  in  preference  to  the  Union. 

It  IS  easy  to  estimate  the  different  strength  of  the  two 
governments,  by  remarking  the  manner  in  which  they  ex- 
ercise their  respective  powers.  Whenever  the  government 
of  a  State  addresses  an  individual  or  an  assembly  of  indi- 
viduals, its  language  is  clear  and  imperative,  —  and  such  is 
also  the  tone  of  the  Federal  government  when  it  speaks 
to  individuals  ;  but,  no  sooner  has  it  anything  to  do  with 
a  State,  than  it  begins  to  parley,  co  explain  its  motives  and 
justify  its  conduct,  to  argue,  to  advise,  and,  in  short,  any- 


CHAHCES   OF  DURATION  OF  THE  UNION. 

Um,te  of  the  const, tutional  powers  of  either  government 
the  prov,„c,al  government  prefers  its  claim  wfth  Slss 
and  taies  prompt  and  energetic  steps  to  support  it.    Me2 
whJe  ho  government  of  the  Union  .masons ;  it  app«Js  to 
he  mtemts,  the  good  sense,  the  glo,y  of  the  nati™    it 
.«mpon^  it  negotiates,  and  does  notlnsent  to  aer„;, 
It  IS  reduced  to  the  last  extremitv     At  fir,t  .•  ^^  ■?  "I 
l^ny  he  imbued  that  it  is  The  XC^^o^^l 
whch  ,s  armed  with  the  authority  of  the  natiofand  t^a 
Congress  represents  a  single  State. 
The  Federal  government  is,  therefore,  notwithstanding 

that,  more  than  any  other,  it  requires  the  free  consem  of 
he  gove^ed  to  enable  it  to  su  Jst.  It  is  easv  to  pereeive 
hat  .^  object  is  to  enable  the  States  to  reali/with'Silv 

Aen-  deermmation  of  remaining  umted;  and,  al  W  i 

atv'  ZT  7.f  !'<•%«-''.  i'  i^  wise,'stronran1 
rrrt,  ?^  Conshtufon  fits  the  government  to  control 
md^vjduals  and  easi^  to  surmount  such  obstacles  Tthey 

d^eat  may  be  confidently  predicted ;  and  it"prlb 
that  such  a  struggle  would  be  seriously  undertaken"    As 

wrong  .tt«hn,en.  of  tho  remainmg  member  Tth.  Tl  "  "" 

»«..de«,..he.,«„p,of  .h.,r.iLl:^V„SitT:T''°  T 
onginal  compact  betwepn  fhpm  ™  -»  .       "^""'''*^'  "rs*.  because  the 

!»««»  the  regaining  SaK,  ^I^Tl^T      '  ""''  '°™°""?  """  "i««.'. 


lii 


1 1 


ill  iiisihi 
ill  Hi 


14  f 

Si       '     ''11 


Ill 


498 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


often  as  a  steady  resistance  is  offered  to  the  Federal  gov- 
ernment,  it  will  be  found  to  yield.  Experience  has  hith- 
erto shown  that,  whenever  a  State  has  demanded  anything 
with  perseverance  and  resolution,  it  has  invariably  suc- 
ceeded ;  and  that,  if  it  has  distinctly  refused  to  act,  it  was 
left  to  do  as  it  thought  fit.* 

But  even  if  the  government  of  the  Union  had  any 
strength  inherent  in  itself,  the  physical  situation  of  the 
country  would  render  the  exercise  of  that  strength  very 
difficult.!  The  United  States  cover  an  immense  territory, 
they  are  separated  fi-om  each  other  by  great  distances,  and 
the  population  is  disseminated  over  the  surface  ot  a  coun- 
try which  is  still  half  a  wilderness.  If  the  Union  were 
to  undertake  to  enforce  by  arms  the  allegiance  of  the 
confederate  States,  it  would  be  in  a  position  very  analo- 
gous to  that  of  Englpnd  at  the  time  of  the  war  of  in- 
dependence. 

However  strong  a  government  may  be,  it  cannot  easily 
escape  from  the  consequences  of  a  principle  which  it  has 
once  admitted  as  the  foundation  of  its  constitution.  The 
Union  was  formed  by  the  voluntary  agreement  of  the 
States ;  and  these,  in  uniting  together,  have  not  forfeited 
their  nationality,  nor  have  they  been  reduced  to  the  con- 

of  a  few.  They  thus  act  in  strict  accordance  with  their  own  republican  prin- 
ciple,  that  the  will  of  the  majority,  duly  ascertained  and  expressed  in  the 
mariner  and  under  the  limitations  prescribed  by  the  Constitution,  shall  be 
the  ultimate  and  supreme  law,  from  which  there  can  be  no  appeal.  And  this 
determination  they  are  now  manifesting  with  a  unanimity  and  energy  such 
as  no  nation  has  ever  before  shown  in  defence  of  its  government. — Am.  Ed. 

*  See  the  conduct  of  the  Northern  States  in  the  war  of  1812.  "  During 
that  war,"  says  Jefferson  in  a  letter  to  General  Lafayette,  "  four  of  the  Ea8^ 
cm  States  were  only  attached  to  the  Union  like  so  many  inanimate  bodies  to 
living  men." 

t  The  profound  peace  of  the  Union  affords  no  pretext  for  a  standing  army , 
and  without  a  standing  army,  a  government  is  not  prepared  to  profit  by  a 
favorable  opportunity  to  conquer  resistance,  and  take  the  sovereign  power  by 
surprise. 


•"""""T-iir 


CHANCES  OF  DUBATION   OF  THE   UNION. 

dition  of  one  and  the  same  people.    If  one  of  the  St«. 
chose  to  withdraw  its  name  frL  ,h  ®'^^^* 

be  difficult  to  dilproveT  rilT  '^/.^"*''^^*'  ^'  ^^uld 
Fo^      1  "isprove  Its  nght   of  domg  so  *   and  th« 

to  enable  the  Fede^l  gove^ment  eJ^L"f  LJ"  ."l" 
-stance  which  n«y  be  offered  to  it  by  L7Z 2 

eniov  thLT  •    .    J        **'*  *"  '"™«  "'hich  exclusively 

Hr^^TSr^airxitiorr 

If  one  of  the  confederate  States  have  acquired  ,  „».„ 

strroftr"^  r '  r '"'""« ''  *»  ^e^ciuiir;:" 

sess.on  of  the  central  authority,  it  wiU  consider  the  o£ 
States  as  subject  provinces,  and  will  cause  its  own  suprm 

tne  name  of  the  Federal  government,  but,  in  reaUt,-, 
is,  eb«  .  Stttt  h  J  rril.  L^*^^*  i!:"*"™"  °'  •»«  S-P"""  Court, 


ii  m 


III : 


fl  ,  :  ■  \ 


I        I      ,    II    III 

''M 
I    I   J" 


1 1 


600 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


it    I 


that  government  will  have  ceased  to  exist.*  In  both  these 
cases,  the  power  which  acts  in  the  name  of  the  confedera- 
tion becomes  stronger  the  more  it  abandons  the  natural 
state  and  the  acknowledged  principles  of  confederations. 

In  America,  the  existing  Union  is  advantageous  to  all 
the  States,  but  it  is  not  indispensable  to  any  one  of  them. 
Several  of  them  might  break  the  Federal  tie  without  com- 
promising the  welfare  of  the  others,  although  the  sum  of 
their  joint  prosperity  would  be  less.  As  the  existence  and 
the  happiness  of  none  of  the  States  are  wholly  dependent 
on  the  present  Constitution,  they  would  none  of  them  be 
disposed  to  make  great  personal  sacrifices  to  maintain  it. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  State  which  seems  hitherto 
to  have  its  ambition  much  interested  in  the  maintenance 
of  the  existing  Union,  They  certainly  do  not  all  exercise 
the  same  influence  in  the  Federal  councils ;  but  no  one 
can  hope  to  domineer  over  the  rest,  or  to  treat  them  as 
its  inferiors  or  as  its  subjects. 

It  appears  to  me  unquestionable,  that,  if  any  portion  of 
the  Union  seriously  desired  to  separate  itself  from  the  other 
States,  they  would  not  be  able,  nor  indeed  would  they 
attempt,  to  prevent  it ;  and  that  the  present  Union  will 
only  last  as  long  as  the  States  which  compose  it  choose 
to  continue  members  of  the  confederation.  If  this  point 
be  admitted,  the  question  becomes  less  difficult ;  and  our 
object  is,  not  to  inquire  whether  the  States  of  the  existing 
Union  are  capable  of  separating,  but  whether  they  will 
choose  to  remain  united. 

Amongst  the  various  reasons  which  tend  to  render  the 
existing   Union  useful   to    the  Americans,  two  principal 

Although  the 


ones  are  especially  evident  to  the  observer. 


*  Thus  the  province  of  Holland,  in  the  republic  of  the  Low  Countries,  and 
the  Emperor  in  the  Germanic  Confederation,  have  sometimes  put  themselves 
in  the  place  of  the  Union,  and  have  employed  the  federal  authority  to  theii 
own  advantage. 


CHANCES   OF  DURATION   OF   THE   UNION.  fiQl 

thev  trade     Notw.-tl.«fo    r       7  "^''*'"'  "^'^^^  which 

-ly  by  remaining  .  nieed  If^e  S^^  ""  ""^  ''""« 
;hey  would  not  onl^  di^inth  1sL!T^ZT  '''"' 
have  against  foreicrner^   Knf  *i  "''"S^n  which  they  now 

tom-houses  would  fhl  1        ^.i,.  ,    '^"^'"  "^  '"'"'«•  ™s- 
;;e  divided  ^SL^C^Z:''^-'^ 

continent  which  Sdet  t"""™"'  '^'°'"  "''"«  "'«  ™t 
At  present,  the'  h  v  nT  „ltf  tTV''^""  f  =*  ''"■""-"• 
no  standing  arLes  to  r^ZZX^  :2Z'C"r7:!^ 
Union  were  dissolvprj   all  *\.        i      ,  ^^^'     ^^  ^^e 

erelong  be  Zi  Id  T  e'l  '''"•:*™^°»^  *ings  would 
deeply  interested  nth.  ^^f^""'"'^'  "'«.  then,  most 
the  oAer  |«„d    it  "^'"'^.'""^^  "^  ^eir  Union.     On 

.>Hvate  i:te::t'\4"  S"noT::f!:  *-  "'•-»-  -^ 

Union  to  separate  from  JlCluT  '  """'°"  "'  '"" 

states,rp:r::;:eie  xlt;:  AiS "'  -ir  ^"''^'' 

".nning  from  the  northeast  ^  tL  fit  l:'f "' 
mg  near  y  one  thousanrl  rr^i]       c  "''"^^^st,  and  cross- 

to  imagin^e  thatte  deslrof  p  "'T'''  ""■  "«  "^  '^'l 

tween^the  valley  of  th    Mi!        "•"''r  ™^  '»  ™''«'  1^ 
Atlantic  Ocean  one  ™  "'^'^^'PP'-d  the  coasts  of  the 

t..e  mutual  r^s^ormrr^trth*''  ''-^ 

limits  of  different  States      bTJi  ""^  """'^^''"7 

Alleghanies  does  nrexeeed  2,5  oirT^"""  "  fl 

rt:;:-;lf rr  ™"-  *"W'eXrwir! 

Besides,!- -r^zs;:;,--^^^^^^^^^ 

Ocean,  the  Hudson   th^  «i„c^     i  Atlantic 

nncison,  the  Susquehanna,  and  the  Potomac, 


'rii  I! 


te 


602 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


take  their  rise  beyond  the  Alleghanies,  in  an  open  elevated 
plain,  which  borders  upon  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 
These  streams  quit  this  tract  of  country,  make  their  way 
through  the  barrier  which  would  seem  to  turn  them  west- 
ward, and,  as  they  wind  through  the  mountains,  open  an 
easy  and  natural  passage  to  man. 

No  natural  barrier  divides  the  regions  which  are  now 
inhabited  by  the  Anglo-Americans;  the  Alleghanies  are 
so  far  from  separating  nations,  that  they  do  not  even  divide 
different  States.  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia 
comprise  them  within  their  borders,  and  extend  as  much 
to  the  west  as  to  the  east  of  the  line. 

The  territory  now  occupied  by  the  twenty-four  States 
of  the  Union,  and  the  three  great  districts  which  have  not 
yet  acquired  the  rank  of  States,  although  they  already 
contain  inhabitants,  covers  a  surface  of  1,002,600  square 
miles,*  which  is  about  equal  to  five  times  the  extent  of 
France.  Within  these  limits  the  quality  of  the  soil, 
the  temperature,  and  the  produce  of  the  country,  are  ex- 
tremely various.  Thft  vast  extent  of  territory  occupied  by 
the  Anglo-American  republics  has  given  rise  to  doubts  as  to 
the  maintenance  of  their  Union.  Here  a  distinction  must 
be  made ;  contrary  interests  sometimes  arise  in  the  differ- 
ent provinces  of  a  vast  empire,  which  oflen  terminate  in 
open  dissensions ;  and  the  extent  of  the  country  is  then 
most  prejudicial  to  the  duration  of  the  state.  But  if  the 
inhabitants  of  these  vast  regions  are  not  divided  by  con- 
trary interests,  the  extent  of  the  territory  is  favorable  to 


*  See  Darby's  View  of  the  United  States,  p.  435.  [In  I860  the  number 
of  States  has  increased  to  34 ;  the  population  to  31,000,000,  and  the  area  of 
the  States,  3,189,000  square  miles.  —  English  Translator's  Note.]  [And  now 
that  the  United  States  comprise  a  vast  region  bordering  on  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  barren  and  mountainous  country  adjacent  to 
them,  form  a  great  natural  barrier  between  the  eastern  and  western  portions 
of  the  Union.  —  Am.  Ed.] 


CHAKCES  OF  BURATION  OF  THE  OKION.  603 

«o.-.,  and  i„c«:lrSe^  tj'l?)!  ^-'^"^'T'  "^  ""' 
sumption.  ''^  feciliating    their  con- 

It  is  indeed  easy  to  discover  AifP       .  • 
different  par.,  of  the  Union  W  I  '"'"'*'''  '"  "" 

■my  which  a.^  hostile  to  eTh  lei  %  ""''^''T"''''  ^'th 
are  almost  exclusively  agTcuut^T  J;''^  ^™'^»™  States 
are  more  peculiarly  comm»r-  i  j  ^  Northern  States 
States  of  the  wLt'^e  TT  ""''  '»'"">««='™ng.  The 
n-annfeeturing.  llth;  South  T'  "™«' "gri-^"""™!  and 
rice,  cotton,  Ld  sugtf  ^  ifrT  ""T'  °'""^-' 
'-heat  and  mai^e:  ttee  1  d^  ""''  *"  ^'^»«'  ^ 

but  union  is  the  me^  whiehtl  """"  "'  ""'"" 
and  render^  equally  advL^^:!*;  :,r"^^  "'^  "^"^ 
Am'SealtVi!^/:;^^  ,/"-  of  the  Anglo- 
produce  of  the  globe    o*f  IT  '•  ^"^-^""^  "^^  ">e 

in  maintaining  the  colder  J"'°"' '•  «"<'^""y  ""'^rested 

in  oMer  that  fhe  iX^fTZZZT"'  ""f"'™' 
snmeis  may  remain  »=  u  "'^"'^"  producers  and  con- 

most  natu^  Z^:  „"  'ZS  ?"  •™"  ^'■^  ^o"''  «  *« 
and  the  WestTthe  UnTor  T  ""  '^'^^"  "■«  S""* 
of  the  world  unon  ,1,.  r  .  ""'  '""''■  «"<•  *«  'est 
-ted  ia  the  „£  and  „::;*!  ""VV'  «■«-«>-  '"'-- 
West,  in  order  that  th,!  '^  ^™'?  "'^  *"  S™*  and  the 
terialaforifmanl'urerr'""'  '°  ''™*  ^^  ™- 

The  South  Td    hi  w;  "JT"  '^  '■•'  '■'W'-g- 
directly  interested  in  ,Z  '""  '"'°'  ^'^  «'«'  "ore 

the  pr^perity:fth:N„;h''™""/*%Unio„  and 

is,  for  the  most  part  eZ7rZ  1,        r"*™"  "'^  *"  ^outh 

the  West  conse;':;.7r„d  ^Te  /^^'th'^  '""*  ^"^ 
resources  of  the  North      T^  !-,         *^^  commercial 

.he  ma,ntenance  of  rp;werf7;e:t  f:^^^^^  <" 
t«t  them  efficaciously."  Thelo^  al^dtfclC 


j' 

1 

il 

1 

I 
1 

! 

ii    ■ 

504 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


vessels,  but  willingly  contribute  to  the  expense  of  a  navy , 
for  if  the  fleets  of  Europe  were  to  blockade  the  ports  of 
the  South  and  the  delta  of  the  Mississippi,  what  would 
become  of  the  rice  of  the  Carolinas,  the  tobacco  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  the  sugar  and  cotton  which  grow  in  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi  ?  Every  portion  of  the  Federal  budget 
does,  therefore,  contribute  to  the  maintenance  of  material 
interests  which  are  common  to  all  the  confederate  States. 

Independently  of  this  commercial  utility,  the  South  and 
the  West  derive  great  political  advantages  from  their  union 
with  each  other  and  with  the  North.     The  South  contains 
atj  enormous  slave  population,  —  a  population  which  is  al- 
ready alarming,  and  still  more  formidable  for  the  future. 
The  States  of  the  West  occupy  a  single  valley ;  the  rivers 
which  intersect  their  territory  rise  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 
or  in  the  Alleguanies,  and  fall  into  the  Mississippi,  which 
bears  them  onwards  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.     The  Western 
States  are  consequently  entirely  cut  off,  by  their  position, 
from  the  traditions  of  Europe  and  the  civihzation  of  the 
Old  World.     The  inhabitants  of  the  South,  then,  are  in- 
duced to  support  the  Union  in  order  to  avail  themselves 
of  its  protection  against  the  blacks ;  and  the  inhabitants  of 
the  West,  in  order  not  to  be  excluded  from  a  free  commu- 
nication with  the  rest  of  the  globe,  and  shut  up  in  the  wilds 
of  central  America.      The  North  cannot  but  desire  the 
maintenance  of  the  Union,  in  order  to  remain,  as  it  now 
is,  the  connecting  link  between  that  vast  body  and  the 
other  parts  of  the  world. 

The  material  interests  of  all  the  parts  of  the  Union  are, 
then,  intimately  connected ;  and  the  same  assertion  holds 
true  respecting  those  opinions  and  ^c^ntiments  which  may 
bo  termed  the  immaterial  interests  of  men. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  talk  much  of  their 
attachment  to  their  country ;  but  I  confess  that  I  do  not 
rely  upon   that   calculating  patriotism  which   is  founded 


CHANCES   OF  DURATION  OK  Tm  UNION.  ^05 

■^  sway  over  a  g.eat  number  of  citij  s TrTe  ,  by  Z 

uJttd  tr™'  "'''\!''™i"'^«  what  is  parsing  i„  the 
Ln  ted  States  upon  this  principle,  will  readily  discover 
tha    tho,r  .nhabitants,   though  divided  into  twcn  X 

Although  the  Anglo-Americans  have  several  religious 

sects,  they  a    regard  rehVIon  In  tT,o  religious 

J  j^aiu  jeugion  in  the  same  manner      Thmr 

are  not  always  agreed  upon  the  measa,.s  which  are  mS 

cond„c.ve  to  good  government,  and  they  va.y  uprsre 

of  the  for^s  of  government  which  it  is  e.(ped2,rradop7 

ought  to  rule  human  socety.     From  Maine  to  the  Flor- 
leo'l  r?.  ""  ^''*""'  '"  "■«  Atlantic  Ocean    the 

The  same  no  .ons  are  entertained  respectW  liberty  Ind 
equahQ,,  the  hbeny  „f  the  press,  the  right  of  awfatit 


Si'  ilei 


H' 


i 


1 

'.: 

1            ,    i 

'ii 

506 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


the  jury,  and  the  responsibility  of  the  agents  of  govern 
ment. 

If  we  turn  from  their  political  and  religious  opinions  to 
the  moral  and  philosophical  principles  which  n;gulate  the 
daily  actions  of  hfe,  and  govern  their  conduct,  we  still  find 
the  same  uniformity.     The  Anglo-Americans*  acknowl- 
edge the  moral  authority  of  the  reason  of  the  community, 
as  they  acknowledge  the  political  authority  of  the  mass  of 
citizens ;  and  they  hold  that  public  opinion  is  the  surest 
arbiter  of  what  is  lawful  or  forbidden,  true  or  false.     The 
majority  of  them  believe  that  a  man,  by  following  his  own 
interest  rightly  understood,  will  be  led  to  do  what  is  just 
and  good.     They  hold  that  every  man  is  bom  in  posses- 
sion of  the  right  of  self-government,  and  that  no  one  haa 
the  right  of  constraining  his  fellow-creatures  to  be  happy. 
They  have  all  a  lively  faith  in  the  perfectibility  of  man , 
they  judge  that  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  must  necessa- 
rily be  advantageous,  and  the  consequences  of  ignorance 
fatal ;  they  all  consider  society  as  a  body  in  a  state  of  im- 
provement, humanity  as  a  changing  scene,  in  which  noth- 
ing is,  or  ought  to  be,  permanent;  and  they  admit  that 
what  appears  to  them  to-day  to  be  good,  may  be  superseded 
by  something  better  to-morrow.     I  do  not  give  all  these 
opinions  as  true,  but  as  American  opinions. 

The  Anglo-Americans  are  not  only  united  by  these  com- 
mon opinions,  but  they  are  separated  from  all  other  nations 
by  a  feeling  of  pride.  For  the  last  fifty  years,  no  pains 
have  been  spared  to  convince  the  inhabitants  of  the  United 
States  that  they  are  the  only  religious,  enlightened,  and 
free  people.  They  perceive  that,  for  the  present,  their 
own  democratic  institutions  prosper,  whilst  those  of  other 
countries  fail ;  hence  they  conceive  a  high  opinion  of  their 

•  It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  me  to  observe  that,  by  the  expression  Anglo- 
Americana,  I  mean  to  designate  only  the  great  majority  of  the  nation ;  tbi 
some  isolated  individuals,  of  course,  hold  very  different  opinions. 


CHANCLS   OF  DUKATION  OF  THE   UNION.  607 

Xf,"'^'  ""^•''™  ""'  ™'y  '*■"'•"'  fr""  »«««ving  them- 
selm  to  be  a  distinct  specie,  of  mankind. 

Ihus,  the  dangers  which  threaten  the  American  Union 

cans      The        "'  f"™"'"" -<>  P-on^  of  the  Ameril 
cans      The  men  who  inhabit  the  vast  territory  of  the 

but  chmate,  and  more  especially  slavery,  have  craduallJ 

Tf  rhe"slr  %^f  ''""^T^  ''~  '^^  BrUisr^etS 
of  the  Soutliem  States  and  the  British  settler  of  the  North 

In  Europe  .t  ,s  generally  believed  that  slavery  has  .^nl 

dered  the  interests  of  one  part  of  tho  TT„- 

those  r.f  (I,.  „.!.        I      r  y  0  ^""'"  "contrary  to 

case     Sll!'     f "       '  ^  '"'™  ""'  '■»»"<•  *«  «»  l^^he 
case.    Slavery  has  not  created  interests  in  the  South  con- 

raiy  to  those  of  the  North,  but  it  has  modified  the  char- 
ac^r  and  changed  the  habits  of  the  natives  of  the  South 
I  have  already  explained  the  influence  of  slavery  upon 

he  commercial  ability  of  the  Americans  in  the  SouU^ ;  anl 
this  same  mfluence  equally  extends  to  their  manner.  The 
slave  ,s  a  servant  who  never  remonstrates,  and  who  sub! 
nuts  to  eveiything  without  complaint.  He  may  slmetime^ 
assassinate,  but  he  never  withstands,  his  master.  In  The 
South,  there  are  no  families  so  poor  as  not  to  have  slave.. 
The  ctizen  of  the  Southern  States  becomes  a  sort  of  d;. 
mestK=  dictator  from  infancy;  the  fi,.t  notion  he  acquires 

Lb  '1'  T'  "  ''°™  •"  '='""""'"<'■  »<•  'he  first  habit 

which  he  contracts  is  that  of  ruling  without  resistance. 
His  education  tends,  then,  to  give  him  the  character  of  a 
haughty  and  hasty  man, -irascible,  violent,  ardent  in  his 
desires,  impatient  of  obstacles,  but  easily  discouraged  if  he 
cannot  succeed  upon  his  first  attempt. 

•  This  is  not  strictly  true.    There  ure  manv  "  ooor  whli«.  "  ..  .i... 
.-.ed,  in  the  Sonthcn,  States,  ,h„o™  .„  L^L  e^'.  I^t7s" 


<''!i!l 


i  i 


1  ' ' 


!       '  < 


^*afiJ»i&ii 


608 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA 


The  American  of  the  North  sees  no  slaves  around  liim 
in  liis  childhood ;  he  is  even  unattended  by  free  servants, 
for  he  is  usually  obliged  to  provide  for  his  own  wants.  As 
soon  as  he  enters  the  world,  the  idea  of  necessity  assails 
him  on  every  side :  he  soon  learns  to  know  exactly  the 
natural  limits  of  his  power;  he  never  expects  to  subdue 
by  force  those  who  withstand  him  ;  and  he  knows  that  the 
surest  means  of  obtaining  the^support  of  his  fellow-creatures 
is  to  win  their  favor.  He  therefbie  becomes  patient,  reflect- 
ing, tolerant,  slow  to  act,  and  persevering  in  his  designs. 

In  the  Southern  States,  the  more  pressing  wants  of  life 
are  always  supplied;  the  inhabitants,  therefore,  are  not 
occupied  with  the  material  cares  of  life,  from  which  they 
are  relieved  by  others ;  and  their  imagination  is  diverted 
to  more  captivating  and  less  definite  objects.  The  Ameri- 
can of  the  South  is  fond  of  grandeur,  luxury,  and  renown, 
of  gayety,  pleasure,  and,  above  all,  of  idleness ;  nothing 
obliges  him  to  exert  himself  in  order  to  subsist ;  and  as  he 
has  no  necessary  occupations,  he  gives  way  to  indolence, 
and  does  not  even  attempt  what  would  be  useful. 

But  the  equality  of  fort  ^nes  and  thi?  absence  of  slavery 
in  the  North  plunge  the  inhabitants  in  those  material  cares 
which  are  disdained  by  the  white  population  of  the  South. 
They  are  taught  from  infancy  to  combat  want,  and  to  place 
wealth  above  all  the  pleasures  of  the  intellect  or  the  heart. 
The  imagination  is  extinguished  by  the  trivial  details  of 
hfe ;  and  the  ideas  become  less  numerous  and  less  general, 
but  far  more  practical,  clearer,  and  more  precise.  As  pros- 
perity is  the  sole  aim  of  exertion,  it  is  excellently  well  at- 
tained;  nature  and  men  are  turned  to  the  best  pecuniary 
advantage ;  and  society  is  dexterously  made  to  ccntribate 
to  the  welfare  of  each  of  its  members,  whilst  individual 
selfishness  is  the  source  of  general  happiness. 

Tne  American  of  the  North  has  not  only  experience,  but 
knowledge ;  yet  he  values  science  not  as  an  enjoyment,  but 


CHANCES  OF  DHUATION   OF  THE   UNION. 

Ir'ThL^A'  \°»'^r'""to  --  its  useful  applica- 
tions.    The  American  of  the  South  is  more  given  to  act 
upon  mxpulse;  he  is  more  clever,  more  frank,  mire  ler 
o»s,  more  mtellectual,  and  more  briUiant.    The  foraer  w.th 

prejudices,  the  weak„reTanIt^e  „  "  f'^'"'  "'^ 

tocracies.  -"^nesses,  and  the  magnanimity  of  aU  aris- 

int^relraTto"!  "1''  '"  "^'''^'  ^'"'  ■>-"  «-  -- 
nrerests,  and,  to  a  certam  extent,  the  same  opinions   but 

ifent  characters,  different  acquirements,  and  a  Sren 

nalr       ''^  ""^  ""'"''  '^  "PP^-W^  *»  ^  -eiety  of 
J^iX^^^'^Tr'-T"^  the  American  Union  di- 

trac^^n  mo         '^™*'''  ''^^™'  '»  *^  ^'"^^"^  con- 
tract  in  1790  were  thirteen  in  number-  thp  TT„;„ 

s:r  1- r^-^""'  ["-irtHourrm:;:!^"^  ;:; 

nlation,  which  amounted  to  nearly  fou.  millions  in  179n 
had  more  than  tripled  in  the  spL  of  for^   y  "ars ,   ,n' 
1880,  It  amounted  to  nearly  thirteen  millions..  ^Cha^.  s 
of  such  magnitude  cannot  take  place  without  dange      ^ 
A  society  of  nations,  as  well  as  a  society  of  indfviduals 
has^three  principal  chances  of  dunition,-Lme; X^t 
dom  of  Its  membeis,  their  individual  weakness    LTtT^ 
hinted  number      Tho   4™    •  ,     ''"''"''^*'  ""a  their 

the  Atla,  r  On        .     f  ™""<"™^  *"'»  q»it  the  coasts  of 


*  Census  of  179o 
1830 
1860 


« 


3,929,328. 
12,856,165. 
31,134,G66. 


610 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


unknown  to  each  other ;  they  have  neither  traditions,  fam- 
ily feeling,  nor  the  force  of  example  to  check  their  ex- 
cesses. The  authority  of  the  laws  is  feeble  amongst  them, 
—  that  of  morality  is  still  weaker.  The  settlers  who  are 
constantly  peopling  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  are,  then, 
in  every  respect,  inferior  to  the  Americans  who  inhabit 
the  older  parts  of  the  Union.  But  they  already  exercise 
a  great  influence  in  its  councils ;  and  they  arrive  at  the 
government  of  the  commonwealth  before  they  have  learnt 
to  govern  themselves.* 

The  greater  the  individual  weakness  of  the  contracting 
parties,  the  greater  are  the  chances  of  the  duration  of  the 
contract;  for  their  safety  is  then  dependant  upon  their 
union.  When,  in  1790,  the  most  populous  of  the  Ameri- 
can republics  did  not  contain  500,000  inhabitants,!  each 
of  them  felt  its  own  insignificance  as  an  independent  peo- 
ple, and  this  feeling  rendered  compliance  with  the  Federal 
authority  more  easy.  But,  when  one  of  the  confederate 
States  reckons,  like  the  State  of  New  York,  two  millions 
[three  and  a  half  millions]  of  inhabitants,  and  covers  an 
extent  of  territory  equal  to  a  quarter  of  France,  |  it  feels 
its  own  strength ;  and,  although  it  may  still  support  the 
Union  as  useful  to  its  prosperity,  it  no  longer  regards 
it  as  necessary  to  its  existence;  and,  while  consenting  to 
continue  in  it,  it  aims  at  preponderance  in  the  Federsd 
councils.  The  mere  increase  in  number  of  the  States 
weakens  the  tie  that  holds  them  together.  All  men  who 
are  placed  at  the  same  point  of  view  do  not  look  at  the 
same  objects  in  the  same  manner.  Still  less  do  they  do 
so  when  the  point  of  view  is  difierent.     In  proportion, 

*  This  indeed  is  only  a  temporary  danger.  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  time 
society  will  assame  as  much  stability  and  regularity  in  the  West  as  it  haa 
already  done  upon  the  coast  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

t  Pennsylvania  contained  431,373  inhabitants  in  1790. 

I  The  area  of  the  State  of  New  York  is  about  46,000  square  miles. 


CHANCES  OF  DURATION  OF  THE  UNION. 


<«tio„.  At  ptr^  Lir's^rrr"  "^'^^'- 

the  Union  are  not  at  vari<m^   h"!  ""o  different  parts  of 
variom  changes  of  the  fot^  '  '''"'  "=»"  '^"•««««  *« 

two  years.     I  perceive  „.Z.  ,.  •  .  ^^'S'  *'»«'>ty- 

th«  mio  of  Er^f  thTAn:?:t  ''".'**'^  «»  ""eck 
for  the  ne.t  hm,dred  year,  •  "5""^'""?  P^P"^''"" 
elapsed,  I  beheve  that  I   ? '  ■     ■'  ^°'^  "^«  time  has 

the  United  StTi  wiU  WovC T  ""''  ''''P^"'''^--  "' 
■niUions  of  inhabitant  «„hT.^  5^.'"°'*  *^  »  '•>»«J«d 
admit  that  th.TSr»yho"'1 ''"°  f  "^  ''^'-•*  ^ 
interests.  I  suppose  on  th^  f  "'"  """^  "°  <"«"'«*'" 
equally  interested  TnthT  """'""y-  "»*  'W  ««  all 

I'tiuLy.harfotthe'X^rti''^  "T'  ^-' 

millions,  forming  forty  dfatinTr» ^^       '^  ""^  *  ^""^'^ 

the  continuance^f  th'^.FeTe^tr'  """^"""y  »''»"& 
a  fortunate  accident  g»vemment  can  only  be 

Whatever  ftith  I  »ay  have  in  the  perfectibUity  of  man. 

tod.  on  A.  ea„.m  .top.  ^ZlJu'^T^  ""'  •"  ""^  ■»»«•  »™  if  the 

nnmber«fi„h.bi«„te.  One h„"d.^  1^^  "T"'"' ""  =»'"J"»'«*  .hi. 
of  .he  .„,„.y.f„„  su«e.,  .nd  .he  ull'''°°'  °'.°"°  ''■«'  »™r  .he  snrf.,. 
Won,  „„„U  „„,j,  give  762  inh.Jr„«T?°™'  """*  °»»'<»"»a-te  .h, 

or  of  Engtoa,  which  1,457  •  „d  ,?1  ',!  '''^  ^  "" »'«'"  l^-g^e ; 

8-i.zerl.nd,  for  .h.,  JZ;  ^0^^*11'™°  ""  '*''>''  '"«  WlaS^of 
-i-  7S3  i.hahi„n„  „  4eXrj^.°^"«  '"  '^  -^  "."-.^n.,  con. 


i  I 

I  I  • 

i  l! 

i  .1; 


512 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


until  human  nature  is  altered,  and  men  wholly  transformed, 
I  shall  refuse  to  believe  in  the  duration  of  a  government 
which  is  called  upon  to  hold  together  forty  different  nations, 
spread  over  a  territory  equal  to  one  half  of  Europe,  to 
avoid  all  rivalry,  ambition,  and  struggles  between  thtm, 
and  to  direct  their  independent  activity  to  the  accoraj>hsli- 
ment  of  the  same  designs. 

But  the  greatest  peril  to  which  the  Union  is  exposed  by 
its  increase  arises  from  the  continual  displacement  of  its 
internal  forces.  The  distance  from  Lake  Superior  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  is  more  than  twelve  hundred  miles,  as  the 
crow  flies.  The  frontier  of  the  United  States  winds  alono- 
the  whole  of  this  immense  line ;  sometimes  falling  within 
its  limits,  but  more  frequently  extending  far  beyond  it,  into 
the  waste.  It  has  been  calculated  that  the  whites  advance 
every  year  a  mean  distance  of  seventeen  miles  along  the 
whole  of  this  vast  boundary.  Obstacles,  such  as  an  un- 
productive district,  a  lake,  or  an  Indian  nation,  are  some- 
times encountered.  The  advancing  column  then  halts  for 
a  while ;  its  two  extremities  curve  round  upon  themselves, 
and,  as  soon  as  they  are  reunited,  they  proceed  onwards. 
This  gradual  and  continuous  progress  of  the  European 
race  towards  the  Rocky  Mountains  has  the  solemnity  of  a 
providential  event ;  it  is  hke  a  deluge  of  men  rising  una- 
batedly,  and  daily  driven  onwards  by  the  hand  of  God. 

Within  this  front  line  of  conquering  settlers,  towns  are 
built,  and  vast  States  founded.  In  1790,  there  were  only 
a  few  thousand  pioneers  sprinkled  along  the  valleys  of  the 
Mississippi ;  at  the  present  day,  these  valleys  contain  as 
many  inhabitants  as  were  to  be  found  in  the  whole  Union 
in  1790.  Their  population  amounts  to  nesirly  four  millions. 
The  city  of  Washington  was  founded  in  1800,  in  the  very 
centre  of  the  Union  ;  but  such  are  the  changes  which  have 
taken  place,  that  it  now  stands  at  one  of  the  extremities ; 
and  the  delegates  of  the  most  remote  Western  States,  in 


CHANCES  OF  DURATION  OF  THE  UNION. 


order  to  take  their  seats  in  n^ 

AH  the  States  arf  boJlTv^  fT^--."-  P"™"* 
path  of  fortune,  but  they  do  loTalf  l  ^T  "  *« 

in  the  same  proportion  I^  rt  m  f ""  ""*  ?"•<«?«■• 
detached  bn.nVesTti.el,  el  V' *''  ^"'''"' ^» 
far  as  the  Atlantic  Oce^  fo™  t^  "'"""'  "^'™<«"g  <« 
constantly  accessible  rLl  ^""^  '■'""*"'"''  P"'^. 
Potomac,  MloWth^  stoj?!  ™"''"  ^-^  fr""  «- 
J-Ppi.  the  coast  i^  sandy  »dflaf  Tl "'  '''  '''''''■ 
Union,  the  mouths  of  ali^ost  all  ttl  ''"''  "^  *" 

and  the  few  harbora  wWch  /•  I  ""  ""''  obstructed  ; 
afford  shallower  ^ZrT.J:^  Z"^' l^T  "^"^ 
me^^  *»«^es,  than  thortf'  thf  Ct  '^^^'  ""-"■ 

-Y"e-to::^;r:itr%:r^- 

upon  the  prosperity  of  thl  pllrhim^r  ""^^"™'- 

eo~rLdn:^:^r^r„::  *■>«  «»»*  both  .•„ 

•»cmre,  the  natural  consequence  of 
Wa.hi;;otrn,I9ri,e?^"^^  ^'^^  -^'--^  °^  ^•^^  «--  of  Missonn,  to 

only  5,243  tons.  I„  the^a^ll  hfTn  T  ''^*")'  ^"^'^  ^ 
of  Massachusetts  alone  an^oun^i^*  VrTns  ^S  T'  ^'  ^'^^  '^'^ 
-n  s  21st  Congress,  2d  Session,  No.  UO  Tsu  /'"  ^^t'^^^  D«- 
had  three  times  as  much  shippincr  as  thp  J  ^u  '  ^''"'  Massachusetts 
ei  iheless,  the  area  of  the  Starof  M  T'  ^^^^^^^^ioned  States.  Nev- 
a-d  its  population  alt^^L^:;:^^^^^^^^^^  ^^  °"^^  ^'^^^  «^"-  ™^H 
four  other  States  I  have  quoted  is  2,0  000 ";  ^'  "'"^*  ^'^^  ^^^^  ^^  '^^         ' 

3,047,767.     Thus  the  aL  of    Lsre^'T '"""'""' *'^'^  P°P°'«^- 
thirtieth  part  of  the  a„,a  of  t      ot ttl     ""r"'""'^  '°'™«  ^'^  -« 
fifth  of  thein,.     [In  1858.  the  torn         f  k   ^    7  '°'"'^'''"  "  ^"*  «- 
33  ..   Of  the  these  four  Southern  States  wa. 


ii 


^^i  ( 


514 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


which  is  the  more  rapid  increase  of  population  and  wealth 
within  its  borders.  The  States  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlan 
tic  Ocean  are  already  half  peopled.  Most  of  the  land  is 
held  by  an  owner ;  and  they  cannot  therefore  receive  so 
many  emigrants  as  the  Western  States,  where  a  boundless 
field  is  still  open  to  industry.  The  valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi is  far  more  fertile  than  the  coast  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  This  reason,  added  to  all  the  others,  contributes 
to  drive  the  Europeans  westward,  —  a  fact  which  may  be 
rigorously  demonstrated  by  figures.  It  is  found  that  the 
sum  total  of  the  population  of  all  the  United  States  has 
about  tripled  in  the  course  of  forty  years.  But  in  the  new 
States  adjacent  to  the  Mississippi,  the  population  has  in- 
creased thirty-one  fold  within  the  same  time. 

The  centre  of  the  Federal  power  is  continually  displaced. 
Forty  years  ago,  the  majority  of  the  citizens  of  the  Union 
was  established  upon  the  coast  of  the  Atlantic,  in  the  envi- 
rons of  the  spot  where  Washington  now  stands ;  but  the 
great  body  of  the  people  are  now  advancing  inland  and  to 
the  North,  so  that,  in  twenty  years,  the  majority  will  un- 
questionably be  on  the  western  side  ot  the  Alleghanies. 
If  the  Union  continues,  the  basin  of  the  Mississippi  is  evi- 
dently marked  out,  by  its  fertility  and  its  extent,  to  be  the 
permanent  centre  of  the  Federal  government.  In  thirty 
or  forty  years,  that  tract  of  country  will  have  assumed  its 
natural  rank.     It  is  easy  to  calculate  that  its  population, 

but  4,765,  while  that  of  Massachusetts  was  32,599.]  Slavery  is  prejudicial 
to  the  commercial  prosperity  of  the  South  in  several  different  ways;  by  di- 
minisliing  the  spirit  of  enterprise  amongst  the  wliites,  and  by  preventing  thera 
from  obtaining  the  sailors  whom  they  require.  Sailors  are  usually  taken 
only  from  the  lowest  ranks  of  the  population.  But  in  the  Southern  States, 
these  lowest  ranks  are  composed  of  slaves,  and  it  is  very  difficult  to  employ 
them  at  sea.  They  are  unable  to  serve  as  well  as  a  white  crew,  and  ap- 
prehensions would  always  be  entertained  of  their  mutinying  in  the  middle 
of  the  ocean,  oi  of  their  escaping  in  the  foreign  countries  at  which  they 
might  touch. 


Ilfiill 


CHANCES  or  B„UT,0.  or  T«=   ™„0K.  515 

compared  with  thaf  nf  t\,^ 

be.  in  ,„„„a  „„tt:!  1^  4^:  1  *;  ^"T''^-  -« "- 

States  which  founded  the  Ur;„„  -i,  ,  "  '"'*'  y'^""'  the 
i*»  policy,  and  the  po2]J"  ,  T  '°'°  '^'^  '"'•^^'i™  of 
«ppi  will  preponderateTnthe  Fe .      >  ''^"'^  °'  "'^  ^^-i- 

This  constant  gravid. W^f;™r7''''^'- 
fluonce  towards  the  Northwe  t  is  If        P""'^  "'"'  "- 
when  a  general  census  of  the  nn^      .°       '^''y  '"°  y^'"'^. 
number  of  delegates  wh  h  eS  f™  ^  """le.  -d  the 
settled  anew..    I„  n90,  V^Z!u,  """"^  '"  ^""S^"^'  « 
"ves  in  Congress.      Th fe  „!l!.        "'"''"™  -epresenta- 
••■>'«   1813,   when    it   relheT^  T"'!"™''  '°  "'"^'^^^ 
«7  it  began  ,o  decreaZ  d  TZtv'  '' ■  '"""  "«" 
only  twenty-one.t    During  thl  '  ^"'S'"'''  elected 

T    ^"""g  the  same  period,  the  State  of 

i-'As  or„::^;,t:rr  °' "- '-  -  --  <-.o-,s3„, 

«>  P-  cen,  i„  ,he  ^.  „  J     ™'  -^  *«  0    *c  bc^er  State  „f  Ohio 

of  tlic  different  State  '"'■'°«  P'"""!  of  the  nneqnal  fortunes 

f  It  has  juM  Ijecn  said  that  in  ,h. 
or  Virginia  has  inere..,  I^pe   e       "anT  f  • '^  '^' *^™'  ^^^  P«P"'-on 

the  number  of  .prcsemativesLrsie'  """"'^  *^  ^^'^  '^o. 

of  that  State,  far  from  diminishing    rali^ '"""'''  "''^  '^^  Population 
t'.e  State  of  Virginia,  to  which  I  h!;    aS!'n T.  '''  '""'^''-     ^  ^^« 
P-son.     The  number  of  represen  al-c    oft      ''''  ^  '"^^  ^--  of  com- 
fonate  to  the  total  number  of  the  Zesent  7"^'?  "  ^''^  ^^  P'-«P«'- 
reIat,on  which  its  population  bor.  to  that "T  f /''  ''""°'  ^"^  ^'^''•e 
number  of  a^pn^sentatives  of  VirSI  Z     n        "'''°'*'  ^"'°"  '  '«  '833,  the 
number  of  the  rcp^sentatiL  Tt  rUnion^^"  ''"^''""""^^^  ^«  ^«  ^^ 
population,  augmented  in  the  conre  o^  t  n    "     'l  '""^  "''^^''"'^  ^"^'^^  ^ts 
r-Pu  ation  of  the  Union  in  the  Zl  spac  "f T'     "^^  ^'  ''^  ^"^™^'^^*''^ 
V.rg,ma„  representatives  will  then  be  rth.    M     '"     ^''  "'"  ""™^^'-  «f 
«  tho  new  number  of  all  the  remLnta^iv  ""'"'"'  ""  ^'^^  «°«  ^-d. 

the  other  hand,  as  the  augmentlToTr'  "  ^        "''  """'" '  «"'^'  <>" 
of  the  whole  population  of  the  coltr/    ThT  "f^'^.^^  ^'^^^"^  ^  to  iha. 

.•     ^""«''ft'ie  mcreaseof  the  popu 


iPlI  I 


616 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


New  York  followed  the  contrary  direction  :  in  1790,  it  had 
ten  representatives  in  Congress ;  in  1813,  twenty-seven  • 
in  1823,  thirty-four ;  and  in  1833,  forty.  The  State  of 
Ohio  had  only  one  representative  in  1803 ;  and  in  1833 
it  had  already  nineteen.  [Virginia  now  has  thirteen.  New 
York  thirty-three,  and  Ohio  twenty-one  representatives.] 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  durable  union  of  a  nation 
which  is   rich   and   strong  with  one  which  is  poor  and 
weak,  even  if  it  were  proved  that  the  strength  and  wealth 
of  the  one  are  not  the  causes  of  the  weakness  and  poverty 
of  the  other.     But  union  is  still  more  difficult  to  maintain 
at  a  time  when  one  party  is  losing  strength,  and  the  other 
is  gaining  it.     This  rapid  and  disproportionate  increase  of 
certain  States  threatens  the  independence  of  the  others. 
New  York  might  perhaps  succeed,  with  its  two  millions 
of  inhabitants  and  its  forty  representatives,  in  dictating  to 
the  other  States  in  Congress.     But,  even  if  the  more  pow- 
erful States  make  no  attemp    to  oppress  the  smaller  ones, 
the  danger  still  exists;  for  there  is  almost  as  much  in  the 
possibility  of  the  act  as  in  the  act  itself.     The  weak  gen- 
erally mistrust  the  justice  and  the  reason  of  the  strong. 
The  States  which  increase  less  rapidly  than  the  others  look 
upon  those  which  are  more  favored  by  fortune  with  envy 
and  suspicion.     Hence  arise  the  deep-seated  uneasiness  and 
ill-defined  agitation  which  are  observable  in  the  South,  and 
which  form  so  striking  a  contrast  to  the  confidence  and 
prosperity  which  are  common  to  other  parts  of  the  Union. 
I  am  inclined  to  think   that  the  hostile  attitude  taken 


latlon  of  the  lesser  country  be  to  that  of  the  greater  in  an  exact  inverse  ratio 
of  the  proportion  between  the  new  and  the  old  numbers  of  aU  the  representa- 
tives, the  number  of  the  representatives  of  Virginia  will  remain  stationary  ; 
and  if  the  increase  of  the  Virginian  population  be  to  that  of  the  whole 
Union  in  a  feebler  ratio  than  the  new  number  of  the  nspresentatives  of  the 
Union  to  the  old  number,  the  number  of  the  representatives  of  Virginia  most 
decrease. 


I 


CHANCES  OF  DURATION  OF  THE  UNION.      517 

Th.*''-\^r"'  '*'""'y'  '"  "Wbutable  to  no  other  cau8e 
The  .„hab.u„t3  of  the  Southern  States  are,  of  al    Z" 

one.  .h„"^th'r„  trirri-;  e'^iZtt:  "t 
;^-.othe^:ratt;::rrLt4i 

rederal  influence  anA  flio*  +1,  i         «  musing  itt, 

♦;,,     •    ^"'"*'"^^'  ^"^  that  the  number  of  its  renrespnt^i 

-*e  South,  which  .  peoSrwTthtlrand  i^hg 
men,  ,s  becommg  more  and  more  irritated  and  ZZd 

-tro^m  r  r'  '"''"""^'  "'*  "■«  -^^-hol^une^^t 
r,w  ;  r  t7  ™'P""  oppression.  If  they  discover  a 
aw  of  the  Union  which  is  not  unequivocal^  favomllo 

torce    and  if  theu-  ardent  remonstrances  are  not  Ustened 
\^7  ''"^'"^"  '0  quit  an  association  which  llsThe^ 
wuh  burdens  whilst  it  deprives  them  of  the  prtfit     .  t" 
Tanff,    said  the  inhabitants  of  Carolina  in  1832,  "  enriches 
the  North  and  ruins  the  South;  for,  if  this  wie  no"  the 
ease,  to  what  can  we  attribute  the  continually  iucreLl" 
power  and  wealth  of  the  North   witJ.  ;*    -7  """"^^"^ 
and  arid  soil,  whilst  the  s!u*  'wufh  IX'^^t. 
garden  of  America,  is  rapidly  declining."/       ^"^  "" 
If  the  changes  which  I  have  described  were  gradual  so 
hat  each  generation  at  least  might  have  time  t!  Zp^Z 
witl.  the  order  of  things  under  which  it  had  lived    2 

,tT         l'^  '"^'  ''"'  *^  P™S--  of  society  Iw 
■ca  IS  precipitate,  and  almost  revolutionary.      The  sTme 

*  See  the  report  of  its  cominittPP  tn.  ^^.^ 
.he  nu,Mca„„„  „r„.„  TariffrZh  cl^r™'""  "'*"  '^'^''^ 


f 


I 
^1 


»:■' 


I 


618 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


citizen  may  have  lived  to  see  his  State  take  the  lead  in  the 
Union,  and  afterwai'ds  become   powerless  in  the  Federal 
assemblies;    and   an   Anglo-American   republic   has   been 
known  to  grow  as  rapidly  as  a  man,  passing  from  birth 
and  infancy  to  maturity  in  the  course  of  thirty  years.     It 
must  not  be  imagined,  however,  that  the  States  which  lose 
their  preponderance  also   lose  their  population   or  their 
riches :  no  stop  is  put  to  their  prosperity,  and  they  even 
go   on   to   increase   more   rapidly   than   any  kingdom   in 
Europe.*     But  they  believe  themselves  to  be  impover- 
ished because  their  wealth  does  not  augment  as  rapidly  as 
that  of  their  neighbors ;  and  they  think  that  their  power 
is   lost   because   they  suddenly  come   in    contact   with   a 
power  greater  than  their  own  :  f  thus  they  are  more  hurt 
in  their  feelings  and  their  passions  than  in  their  interests. 
But  this  is  amply  sufficient  to  endanger  the  maintenance 
of  the  Union.     If  kings  and  peoples  had  only  had  their 
true  interests  in  view,  ever  since  the   beginning  of  the 
world,  war  would  scarcely  be  known  among  mankind. 

Thus  the  prosperity  of  the  United  States  is  the  source 
of  their  most  serious  dangers,  since  it  tends  to  create  in 
some  of  the  confederate  States  that  intoxication  which 
accompanies  a  rapid  increase  of  fortune ;  and  to  awaken 
in  others  those  feelings  of  envy,  mistrust,  and  regret  which 

*  The  population  of  a  country  assuredly  constitutes  the  first  element  of 
its  wealth.  In  the  ten  yem-s  (1820-1830)  during  which  Virginia  lost  two 
of  its  representatives  in  Congress,  its  population  increased  in  the  proportion 
of  13.7  per  cent;  that  of  Carohna,  in  the  proportion  of  15  per  cent;  and 
that  of  Georgia,  15.5  per  cent.  But  the  population  of  Russia,  which  increases 
more  rapidly  than  that  of  any  other  European  country,  only  augments  in 
ten  years  at  the  rate  of  9.5  per  cent ;  of  France,  at  the  rate  of  7  per  cent ; 
and  of  Europe  altogether,  at  the  rate  of  4.7  per  cent. 

t  It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  the  depreciation  which  has  taken 
place  in  the  value  of  tobacco,  during  the  last  fifty  years,  has  notably  dimin- 
ished the  opulence  of  the  Southern  planters  :  but  this  circumstance  is  as  in 
ilcpendbnt  of  the  will  of  their  Northern  brethren  as  it  is  of  their  own. 


CHANCES   OF  DURATION   OF   THE   UNION. 

plate  this  extraordm.r,'  progress  with  exultation ;  but  U,ey 
would  be  mser  to  consider  it  with  sorrow  and  alarm      The 

onroTZ  "'  '!'\""'-""'  '**'"  ■"-'  inevitabirbeeo^' 
one  of  the  greatest  nations  in  the  world;  their  offspring 
W.1I  cover  almost  the  whole  of  North  America ;  the  conti! 

soon  /    Kiches,  power,  and  renown  cannot  fail  to  be  theirs 

fort:ras'':J7t""^'  '•"  ""'^ "-'  "p™  '"'^  '— 

thJn™"''  ,**'  L*"*™  demonstrated,  that  the  existence  of 
the  present  confederation  depends  entirely  on  the  contin- 

prmeiple,  I  have  mqmred  mto  the  causes  which  may  in- 
duce  some  of  the  States  to  separate  from  the  others.  The 
Union  may,  however,  perish  in  two  different  ways:  one  of 

pact,  and  so  forcibly  to  sever  the  Federal  tie;  and  it  is  to 
this  supposition  that  most  of  the  remarks  that  I  have  made 
app^y:  or  the  authority  of  the  Federal  government  may  be 
gradually  fet  by  the  simultaneous  tendency  of  the  unM 
repubhcs  to  resume  their  independence.  The  central  po^ 
er,  successively  stripped  of  all  its  prerogatives,  and  reduced 

o  S tr    ^  '^"  Tl"''  """"  ^'""^'  incompetent 

o  fulfil  Its  purpose;  a.id  the  second  union  would  perish 

U.e  the  fi..t  by  a  sort  of  senUe  imbecility.     The  Sal 

weakening  of  the  Federal  tie,  which  may  finally  Sd  to 

he  d,,,o,„,      „f  aie  Union,  is  a  distinct  circumst^c 

that  may  produce  a  variety  of  minor  consequences  before 

.    opemtes  so  violent  a  change.     The  confederation  might 

tdl  subsist  although  its  government  were  reduced  to  such 

l^T       T'""".  '^  "•  P'^'^y^^  *^  "»"»■'•  to  cause    , 


520 


DEMOCRACY   IN   AMERICA. 


After  having  investigated  the  causes  whic-h  may  induce 
the  Anglo-Americans  to  disunite,  it  is  important  to  inouiro 
whetlier,  if  the  Union  continues  to  subsist,  tlieir  govern- 
ment will  extend  or  contract  its  sphere  of  action,  and 
whether  it  will  become  more  energetic  or  more  weak. 

The  Americans  are  evidently  disposed  to  look  upon  their 
condition  with  alarm.     They  perceive  that,  in  most  of  the 
nations  of  the  world,  the  exercise  of  the  rights  of  sover- 
eignty tends  to  fall  into  a  few  hands,  and  they  are  dis- 
mayed by  the  idea  that  it  may  be  so  in  their  own  country 
Even  the  statesmen  feel,  or  affect  to  feel,  these  fears ;  for 
in  America  centralization   is   by  no  means  popular,  and 
there  is  no  surer  means  of  courting  the  majority  than  by 
inveighing  against  the  encroachments  of  the  central  power 
The  Americans  do  not  perceive  that  the  countries  in  which 
this  alarming  tendency  to  centralization  exists  are  inhabited 
by  a  single  people ;  whilst  the  Union  is  composed  of  differ- 
ent communities,  —  a  fact  which  is  sufficient  to  baffle  all 
the  inferences  which  might  be  drawn  from  analogy.     I 
confess  that  I  am  inclined  to  consider  these  fears  of  a  great 
number  of  Americans  as  purely  imaginary.     Far  fi-om  par- 
ticipating m  their  dread  of  the  consohdation  of  power  in 
the  hands  of  the  Union,  I  think  that  the  Federal  govern- 
ment IS  visibly  losing  strength.     To  prove  this  assertion,  I 
shall  not  have  recourse  to  any  remote  occurrences,  but  to 
circumstances  which  I  have  myself  witnessed,  and  which 
belong  to  our  own  time. 

An  attentive  examination  of  what  is  going  on  m  the 
United  States  will  easily  convince  us  that  two  opposite 
tendencies  exist  there,  like  two  currents  flowing  m  con- 
trary directions  in  the  same  channel.  The  Union  has 
now  existed  for  forty-five  years,  and  time  has  d..n,a';vay 
with  many  provincial  prejudices  which  were  at  first  hostile 
to  Its  power.  The  patriotic  feeling  which  attached  each  of 
the  Americans  to  his  own  State  is  become  less  exclusive  • 


CHANCES  OF  DURATION  OF  THE  UNION.       621 

and  the  different  part,  of  the  Union  have  h.o 
amicabc  as  thev  hnir«  h  t  become  more 

other.     Ct^t  timt  -  T'  ""'  '"^''■•"'""=''  ^'■"'  »<=•• 
reaeho.  into  Z  b^trT  """T'"'  "^ -te-ou^e,  now 

points  of  the  Z    °f;"™mm,caf„n  Wtween  the  different 

".piai..co„™,r:;„:-t:^^^^^^^^^ 

the  country.  And  to  f},P««  ^  I//"«/lown  the  rivers  of 
,"-«  added  tLse  resde^a  rtirTt  bu"""""  Tf  "-'  "-"^ 
■ove  of  pe,f,  w.,ieh  are  consS^t  iXAme  "'  ""' 
a''tr,e  life,  and  brininn,,  1,:„  •  .     °   S  tlie  Amenean  into 

citizens.     He  c™   ef  tt  •""'"'"  '^'*  '"'^  S'""- 

vUits  all  the  vllr,  .""""^  '"  ^^-7  '"■^"■•on ;  he 

"   .'      ranous  populations  of  the  land      Ti         • 

^''::2:>^zi^  *^  -irare't^;; 

cover  the  territori^f  rhetife^'ttr ""'  °^  -^  ^'■" 

their  institutions  dLt-:/";  tt^^u'  Z'  ""''"'  "" 
nearer  to  the  common  tvj     v  "^'"^''  *"'' 

men  leave  the  NorTh  to  ^fettle  I  dV"""  """'^'""''  "^ 
Union:  they  brine  with  T  .i  •  . '"^"'  P"''  «f  the 
»nd  their  ,„fu„r^  and  Jtr  *"'  '^"'■'  *^'^  °P'"i»»». 
the  men  amon^r^lMylXTt:  d"'t  7"  *"" 
rise  to  the  head  of  affairs  L7»W  !  •  •"''  ^'^ '"o" 
advantage.     This  contiZi  ""^    '""""^  '»  *''«'''-  o*" 

South  is  pecuLr/fevTrTMeTrT."'  '''^  ^°"''  '»  *e 
ent  provincial  chlctlL^'  ^"'"  "''  '^'  ">«  ''iff'er- 

civilLtion  of  ^'eXTh  teaT tHrth  '"""'""•     ^'■^ 

-^-i,eHthe.bo,e'Lrn:n^^:^r,7-;-: 
^^^t::x^:^t:'r'  -"'^^  *«  -^«^-*«  state. 

American^,,  and  the  utLTtT  "■»"&«»«»  of  the 
-anal,  form,  aitrTTthttKr^eTr 


522 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


has  swept  away  the  bugbear  thoughts  which  haunted  the 
iiBaginations  of  the  citizens  in  1789.  I'he  Federal  power 
is  not  become  oppressive;  it  has  not  destroyed  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  States ;  it  has  not  subjected  the  confeder- 
ates to  monarchical  institutions  ;  and  the  Union  has  jiot 
vendered  the  lesser  States  dependent  upon  the  larger  ones. 
The  confederatica  has  continued  to  increase  in  population, 
in  wealth,  and  m  power.  I  am  therefore  convinced  that 
the  natural  obstacles  to  the  continuance  of  the  American 
Union  are  not  so  powerful  now  as  they  were  in  1789,  and 
that  the  enemies  cf  the  Union  are  not  so  numerous. 

And  yet  a  careful  examination  of  the  history  of  the 
United  States  for  the  last  forty-five  years  will  readily  con- 
vince us  that  the  Federal  power  is  declining;  nor  is  it 
difficult  to  explain  the  causes  of  this  phenomenon.     When 
the  Constitution  of  1789  was  promulgated,  the  nation  was 
a  prey  to  anarchy ;  the  Union,  which  succeeded  this  con- 
fusion, excited  much  dread  and  hatred,  but  it  was  warmlv 
supported   because  it   satisfied   an   imperious   wart.     Al- 
though it  was  then  more  attacked  than  it  is  now,  the  Fed- 
eral power  soon  reached  the  maximum  of  its  authority,  as 
is  usually  the  case  with  a  government  which  triumphs  af\;ei' 
having  braced  its  strength  by  the  struggle.     At  that  time, 
the  interpretation  of  the  Constitution  seemed  to  extend, 
rather  than  to  repress,  the  Federal  sovereignty;  and  the 
Union  offered,  in  several  respects,  the  appearance  of  a 
single  and  undivided  people,  dir-^cted  in  its  foreign  and 
internal  policy  by  a  single  government.      But   to   attain 
this  point  the   people  had  risen,  to  some   extent,  above 
itself. 

The  Constitution  had  not  destroyed  the  individuality 
of  the  States ;  and  all  communities,  of  whatever  nature 
they  may  be,  are  impelled  by  a  secret  instinct  towards  in- 
dependence. This  propensity  is  still  more  decided  in  a 
country  like  America,  in  which  every  village  forms  a  sort 


CR4HCES  OF  DUSATION  OF  IHE  USION.      623 

Of  republic,  accustomed  to  govern  teelf.     It  therefore  cost 
and  aU  efforts,  however  successful  they  may  be,  necessa 
A.  the  Fedei-al  government  consoUdated  its  authority 

turned  to  .ts  frontiers,  and  public  credit  was  restored  •  con- 
fusion was  succeeded  by  a  fixed  state  of  thinr^hid 
permitted  the  ii,U  and  free  .-vcrdse  „f  ;„^   7  ° 
DrisB     Tf,., „..!,•  ""-  '-■"^'^'se  of  mdustiious  enter- 

cans  fortr,        ""^  rr"'^  ^^'"^^  """ie  the  Ameri- 

Zont  tliem    7^     t."  '"  "T™  ''  "'^PP--^  &«"> 
Jem.^  r^n-r/rtt^^^^^^^^^^ 

t  irksome.     Everytlung  prospered  under  the  Union,  and 

ttv  H  r'  ""'  '""''■"=''  *°  ^'"'"<'»''  the  Union  but 
they  desired  to  render  the  action  of  the  power  which 
representee  it  as  light  as  possible.  The  gencr J  priTcink 
of  union  was  adopted,  but  in  every  minor  detail  tC^ 
a  tendency  to  independence.  The  principle  of  confedr 
tion  was  eveiy  day  more  easily  admitted,  and  mo^  areTv 
apphed ;  so  that  the  Federal  government,  by  creX  ^£ 
and  peace,  brought  about  its  own  decHne  " 

As  soon  as  this  tendency  of  public  opinion  be<.an  to  be 
manifested  externally,  the  leaders  of  parties,  who  live  by 

wI>:;ceedtXS'  'tT''-   ^°™"'"'^"'  *«" 
sion  nf  .!,„  ='7  cntical.     lis  enemies  were  in  posses 

3.on  of  the  popular  favor;  and  they  obtained  the  ri^h'  of 

ondnctmg  Its  policy  by  pledging  .imselves  to  lit  h 

mfluence.    From  that  time  forwards,  the  government  rft  1 


-:/| 


'!  ;-i 


524 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


Union,  as  often  as  it  has  entered  the  lists  with  the  govern- 
ments of  the  States,  has  almost  invariably  been  obliged  to 
recede.  And  whenever  an  interpretation  of  the  terms  of 
the  Federal  Constitution  has  been  pronounced,  that  inter- 
pretation has  generally  been  opposed  to  the  Union,  ana 
favorable  to  the  States.* 

The  Constitution  gave  to  the  Federal  government  the 
right  of  providing  for  the  national  interests ;  and  it  had 
been  held  that  no  other  authority  was  so  fit  to  superinten.l 
the  "  internal  improvements  "  which  affected  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  whole  Union ;  such,  for  instance,  as  the  cutting 
of  canals.     But  the  States  were  alarmed  at  a  power  which 
could  thus  dispose  of  a  portion  of  their  territory ;   they 
were  afraid   that  the  central  government  would   by  this 
means  acquire  a  formidable  patronage  within   their  own 
limits,  and  exercise  influence  which  they  wished  to  reserve 
exclusively  to  their  own  agents.     The  Democratic  party, 
which  has  constantly  opposed  the  increase  of  the  Federal 
authority,  accused  Congress  of  usurpation,  and  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  ambition.     The  central  government  was  in- 
timidated by  these  clamors ;  and  it  finally  acknowledged 
Its  error,  promising  to  confine  its  influence  for  the  future 
within  the  circle  which  was  prescribed  to  it. 

The  Constitution  confers  upon  the  Union  the  right  of 
treating  with  foreign  nations.  The  Indian  tribes,  which 
border  upon  the  frontiers  of  the  United  States,  had  usually 
been  regarded  in  this  light.     As  long  as  these  savages  con- 

♦  This  assertion  may  be  doubted.  The  only  authorized  interpreter  of  the 
Constitution  is  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  ;  and  in  most  of  the 
suits  before  this  tribunal,  which  have  involved  a  question  as  to  the  limite  of  the 
Federal  and  the  State  authority,  the  decision  has  been  in  favor  of  the  former. 
See  the  Dartmouth  College  case,  that  of  Chisholmr.  Georgia,  Gibbons  r.  Og- 
den,  Ogden  v.  Saunders,  the  Cherokee  Land  case,  and  many  others.  Scv- 
eral  of  the  cases  which  our  author  goes  on  to  cite  are  instances  of  legislative, 
not  Judicial,  interpretation;  that  is,  legally  they  are  no  interpretation  at  all, 
beias  all  liable  to  be  overruled  by  the  Supreme  Court.  —Am.  Ed. 


CHANCES  OF  DURATION  OP  THE  UOTON. 

«nted  to  reHre  before  the  civifed  settlers,  the  Fedend 

soon  recoffnized  I«>n,  .1.         1  •  "^sntra!  government 

r.|„d.rr^T       . .     *^*  *''""'  '•  »■"•  after  it  had  con- 
cluded treaties  with  the  Indians  as  independent  nation 
.t^^ve,  then,  np  as  subjects  to  the  leg-slativ^  t^rn^ofr 

coast  of  the  Atlantic  extended  indefinitely  to  the  West 
mtowJd  regions  where  no  European  had  yet  penetmtS' 
The  States  whose  confines  were  itrevocabry  fiSd  Wked 

aif:;XtSit^:-^^^^^^ 

confederation  at  lamp  +     tk^      v  i   ,  *"® 

,       dt  iarge.-j-     I  henceforward  the  Federal  trnv 
emment  became  the  owner  of  all  tl,.       "«  ^^^eral  gov- 
whiVl,  i,-«  1.         J    V  "wner  oi  all  the  uncultivated  lands 

■tr^l.        .r'  '""'  ^'"'"^  fr""  *is  sonrfe  were  3 

:six  ";r7e  'L^nf  '"^  ™-- 1  ^^ 

u  irom  tne  Indians,  opening  roads  to  the  re- 

ereignty  over  the  IndianTJl  ^o,  Georgia  did  not  claim  a  right  of  sov- 

^^oZ\  .  :r;:r;\r::dr ^^^^^^^^         -- 

emment  had  pledged  itself  to  extinguish. -Am  Ed]  ^'*'' 

ViLw    M*  ^'V'^  '''''"''  ^"^  """^^  ^3^  *»>«  St-te  of  New  York  in  1780  • 
Virginia,  Massachusetts,  Connecticnt  Rn„th  „«-i  at     u  ^  * 

thi8  example  at  different  tin!!       7,     .  ^  ^""'^  ^"°""«'  fo"o^e«J 

made  a.  InVLTso;       '  "'' '"'"'  *'^  "*  ^^  ^^^^  °^  ««-^-  - 


t;  i 


626 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


mote  settlements,  and  accelerating  the  advance  of  civiliza* 
tion.     New  States  have  been  formed  in  the  course  of  time, 
in  the  midst  of  those  wilds  which  were  formerly  ceded  by 
the  Atlantic  States.     Congress  has  gone  on  to  sell,  for  the 
profit  of  the  nation  at  large,  the  uncultivated  lands  which 
those  new  States  contained.     But  the  latter  at  length  as- 
serted that,  as  they  were  now  fully  constituted,  they  ought 
to  have  the  right  of  converting  the  produce  of  these  sSes 
exclusively  to  their  own  use.     As  their  remonstrances  be- 
came  more  and   more  threatening.   Congress  thought   fit 
to  deprive  the  Union  of  a  portion  of  the  privileges  which 
it  had  hitherto  enjoyed ;  and,  at  the  end  of  1832,''it  passed 
a  law  by  which  the  greatest  part  of  the  revenue  derived 
from  the  sale  of  lands  was  made  over  to  the  new  Western 
republics,  although  the  lands  themselves  were  not  ceded 
to  them.* 

The  slightest  observation  in  the  United  States  enables 
one  to  appreciate  the  advantages  which  the  country  de- 
rives from  the  Bank.  These  advantages  are  of  several 
kmds,  but  one  of  them  is  peculiarly  striking  to  the  stran 
ger.  The  notes  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  are 
taken  upon  the  borders  of  the  desert  for  the  same  value  as 
at  Philadelphia,  where  the  Bank  conducts  its  operations.! 

But  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  is  the  object  of  great 
anmiosity.     Its  directors  proclaimed  their  hostility  to  the 

*  It  is  true  that  the  President  refused  his  assent  to  tliis  law ;  but  lie  com- 
pletely  adopted  it  in  principle.  See  Message  of  8th  December,  1833.  [Tliis 
.8  overstated  again.  The  Western  States  never  claimed  the  lan.ls,  but  only 
that  they  should  be  sold  at  a  low  price,  so  as  to  encourage  their  settlement 
and  that  a  fair  portion  of  the  purchase-money  should  be  devoted  to  opening 
roads  and  other  internal  improvements.  —  Am.  Ed.] 

t  The  Bank  of  the  United  States  was  established  in  1816,  wnth  a  capital  of 
35  000,000  dollars  ;  its  charter  expired  in  1836.  In  1832,  Congress  passed 
a  law  to  renew  it,  but  the  President  put  his  veto  upon  the  bill.  The  struggle 
contmued  with  great  violence  on  either  side,  and  the  speedy  fall  of  the  Bank 
might  have  been  foreseen. 


I 


CHANCES  OF  DURATION  OF   THE  UNION  527 

in  the  pursuit  of  his  reventeZtL  •™'  ™<^'>'"^d 

supposed  b,  the  ^ec.:ri;i:!';:;r:"S'"%T 

Bank  may  be  refrnrdt^A  a.  +1,  majority.     The 

dent  of  the  centml  power  conWrtedVo  !,     "      '."'''P'"- 
the  Banl;  TOntnonted  to  the  overthrow  of 

a   oinntiV^r  r.f       i.       1  ,  ^  ^'^^^  *o  issue  only 

a   quantity  of  notes   duly  proportioned   to   their  capital 
iliey  submitted  with  imnatipnL  ^«  *t       ,  capital. 

Tr,/  "npanence  to  this  sa  utarv  rnntml 

The  newspapers  which  they  bought  over  anH,.  P 
dent,  whose  interest  rendered  hL  X-  ''^"' 

tacked   tho   R    I       .""""ered  him  their  instrument,  at- 

routd  ,f»  1     T     "'*   *"  greatest  vehemence.      Thel 
^.e^ktC  foj:?  """'  """  '>"=y--ted  that 

«w  influr:ou,ruiti:::^r^ttif  ^"''•'■• 

on.ran~„trre  ""■'  f"'  ''"''  ''^  •""^''--  «- 
in  imericatete:  XCr^^tli"^'  f  f '"  °" 
-between  the  spirit  of  dLoT^^L li  tX! ^''dl:; 
of  a  proper  distribution  and  subonh-natio'  of  ZlrfZ 
not  mean  that  the  enemies  of  the  Bank  were    dcntiam 


if, 


J  VI 

1  ! 


I  '      I 


I    !i 


i!  if' 


628 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


the  same  individuals  who,  on  other  points,  attacked  the 
I^ederal  government ;  but  I  assert  that  the  attacks  directed 
agamst  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  originated  in  the 
same  propensities  which  militate  against  the  Federal  gov- 
ernment, and  that  the  very  numerous  opponents  of  the 
former  afford  a  deplorable  symptom  of  the  decreasincr. 
strength  of  the  latter.  '^ 

But  the  Union  has  never  shown  so  much  weakness  as 
on  the  celebrated  question  of  the  Tariff.*     The  wars  of 
the  French  Revolution  and  of  1812  had  created  manufac- 
turing establishments  in  the  North  of  the  Union,  by  cut- 
ting off  free  communication  between  America  and  Europe. 
When  peace  was  concluded,  and  the  channel  of  intercourse 
reopened,  by  which  the  produce  of  Europe  was  transmit- 
ted to  the  New  World,  the  Americans  thought  fit  to  estab- 
lish a  system  of  import  duties,  for  the  twofold  purpose  of 
protecting  their  incipient  manufactures  and  of  paying  off 
the  amount  of  the  debt  contracted  during  the  war.  '^The 
Southern  States,  which  have  no  manufactures  to  encour- 
age, and  which   are   exclusively  agricultural,  soon   com- 
plained of  this  measure.      I  do  not  pretend  to  examine 
Jiere  whether  their  complaints  were  well  or  ill  founded, 
but  only  to  recite  the  facts. 

As  early  as  1820,  South  Carolina  declared,  in  a  petition 
to  Congress,  that  the  Tariff  was  "unconstitutional,  oppres- 
sive, and  unjust."  And  the  States  of  Georgia,  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi  subsequently 
remonstrated  against  it  with  more  or  less  vigor.  But 
Congress,  far  from  lending  an  ear  to  these  c^'omplaints, 
raised  the  scale  of  Tariff  duties  in  the  years  1824  and 
1828,  and  recognized  anew  the  principle  on  which  it  was 
founded.  A  doctrine  was  then  proclaimed,  or  rather  re- 
vived,  in  the  South,  which  took  the  name  of  Nullification. 

*  See  principally,  for  the  details  of  this  affair,  the  Legislative  Documents, 
22(1  Congress,  2d  Session,  No.  30. 


CHANCES  0.  BDBATION  OF  THE  MON.      629 

.te  a  national  govemlm      th/a      *  ^Z'  """  '^  ""■ 

Stat.  f„™.  on!  and  rie^eopt  nrr'  "'  ""f  "^' 
are  specified  bv  tlmf  r      !  !    •    ^    '       ^^  *^®  ^^^^^  which 

«.e  ^ii  i  2^„:;;:nt~:i  :i:r"  r  ^°'"'"' 

tional  nations,  by  the  voice  rf, 7'  '"  ^'  '='"''''"- 

"^•ority  has  o^ceVoL  Xis    ,,e  dur:":[-     ''^''^"  '"" 

independent  States;  and  rharlrh^S^  f  "  '"'«""  "*' 
retains  its  entire  sove^Ltt  if  I,  If  '=''"^^iuently, 
>r.,  and  has  the  r^Z'lf^'"''''''  '^»**  * 
«pon  the  laws  of  C~  LTof  ,  "!,"  T'™"''"" 
cution  within  the  limitf  J'.  »»Pend'ng  their  exe- 

unconstitufond  anXw       """  *-ito,y,  if  they  seen. 

that  party  in  the  L,ih\rT  o'^'"'™'  *«  ''««<'  »<" 
States'  in  m3  ..  Th  cts^r  r'^  '™'"^  "^  *«  United 
the  States  were  parties  Consf'nt.on  .s  a  compact  to  which 

WW       a  c^n^rLrrtJ  rrpaSti^^' 

^:ttrhra"^htfv^'^^^"'" 

the  nature  iLm^dll'r^'  "/  "^^'^ '"  '^'«"''»  "> 
is  evident  th,r      1,       "''''«*"«»«  «f  Ae  instrument."    It 

from  which  the  Zeri!  ?^  '''"^'^   *^  »"«% 

1789.  '""^  ^^--^  <'«Ji™^  by  the  act  of 

When  South  Carolina  perceived  th,f  r 

J,  r^'i-eivea  tnat  Congress  turned 


I   , 


1   ^1 


1 

f 

•1 

■ 

i 

« 

J 

530 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


a  deaf  ear  to  its  remonstrances,  it  threatened  to  apply  the 
doctrine  of  NulHfication  to  the  Federal  Tariff  law.     Con- 
gress persisted  in  its  system,  and  at  length  the  storm  broke 
out.     In  the  course  of  1832,  the  people  of  South  Carolina* 
named  a  national  convention,  to  consult  upon  the  extraor- 
dinary measures  which  remained  to  be  taken ;  and  on  the 
24tli  of  November  of  the  same  year,  this  convention  pro- 
mulgated a  law,  under  the  form  of  a  decree,  which  an- 
nulled tho  Federal  law  of  the  Tariff,  forbade  the  levy  of 
the  imposts  which  that  law  commands,  and  refused  to  rec- 
ognize  the  appeal  which  might  be  made  to  the  Federal 
courts  of  law.f     This  decree  was  only  to  be  put  in  execu- 
tion in  the  ensuing  month  of  February ;  and  it  was  inti- 
mated that,  if  Congress  modified  the  Tariff  before  that 
period.  South  Cai-olina  might  be  induced  to  proceed  no 
further  with  her  menaces ;  and  a  vague  desire  was  after- 
wards expressed  of  submitting  the  question  to  an  extraor- 
dinary assembly  of  all   the   confederate   States.      In   the 

•  That  is  to  say,  the  majority  of  the  people;  for  the  opposite  party 
called  the  Vnum  party,  always  formed  a  very  strong  and  active  minority' 
Carohna  may  contain  about  47,000  voters ;  30,000  were  in  favor  of  nulUfica- 
tion,  and  17,000  opposed  to  it. 

t  This  decree  was  preceded  by  a  Report  of  the  Committee  by  which  it 
was  framed,  containing  the  explanation  of  the  motives  and  object  of  the 
law.     The  following  passage  occurs  in  it  (p.  34) :    «« When  the  rights  re- 
served  by  the  Constitution  to  the  different  States  are  deliberately  violated  it 
18  the  duty  and  the  right  of  those  States  to  interfere,  in  order  to  check  the 
progress  of  the  evil ;  to  resist  usurpation,  and  to  maintain,  within  their  re- 
spective  limits,  those  powers  and  privileges  which  belong  to  them  as  indepm- 
de,a,  sovereign  States.     If  they  were  destitute  of  this  right,  they  would  not  be 
sovereign.    South  Carolina  declares  that  she  acknowledges  no  tribunal  upon 
earth  above  her  authority.     She  has  indeed  entered  into  a  solemn  compact 
of  union  with  the  other  States  ;  but  she  demands,  and  will  exercise,  the  right 
oi  putting  her  own  construction  upon  it;  and  when  this  compact  is  violated 
by  her  sister  States,  and  by  the  government  which  they  have  created,  she  is 
determined  to  avail  herself  of  the  unquestionable  right  of  judging  what  is 
the  extent  of  the  infraction,  and  xvhat  are  the  measures  best  fitted  to  obtain 
justice." 


CHANCES   OF  DUWIWN  OF  THE  Mok.  ggl 

pTd  r^af  "*  ^"™'*™  ^'^  "-  ">i>itia,  and  p^ 

•  applies  neeessar,  to  *:  ^v  ^Jne""' -^^  'T'  '"^ 
completely  abandoned  the  prindZ  !V  In.  ^""^^^ 
substituted  a  mere  fiscal  h!^f  *"    ^""'f''  »<< 

?ive  du.ies.t  The  govlZ  ofThe'/r™  °'  P"'^^" 
■ts  defeat,  had  ^ouL  to  Texped Lm  whT  •'"  ™"™^' 
vogue  with  feeble  government!  T.  .^i  "  """=■>  '" 
/«<*.,  but  remained  infleX  T ''"'  ""^  P"'"'  * 

whOst  it  was  altering  the  LffT     '"■  '"""'"'^ '   '"-» 

"^^^po-:^^'  ^ir^  -- -*  eX :: 
^t!srr!f-^l-„r^^^ 

*e  same  national  ~ZTL^ITT''  "''=•-«'««  = 
Tariif  bill,  met  aoain  "  'd  f^   ^^^   «""«"«<•    'he 

-.  but,'atther;:-me,trarf;irr  r^^ 
severance  in  the  doctrine  oe\,n-7    ■         ""^''^^d  pep- 

what  it  said,  it  anndWtl.  ,'*""'""'  "■<••  '»  P"™ 
with  extn.orkinarpre.aItr  T""°"  ""  P"'*"' 
that  the  law  would  neT!r\»?.  '■  ""'  ^-^^  ««^«" 
.    Almost  al,  the  IZZ.^  oT^hfchTUf  b''  . 

»g  have  taken  place  under  the  ^tia^^'^^l'^, 

*  Congress  was  finally  decidPfJ  tn  *  u      .  • 
powerful  State  of  VIrginfa  w^o  '  ie     ,         "  '''''  ''''''  ^•«»'^»^*  ^^the 
between  the  Union  and  sU  Jl^^^^^^^^  -e  as  a  mediator 

P-^  to  be  enti.1,  abandoned  ett  th^stt     I  IT""  ^''''  '^  ^P" 
remonstrances.  ^  ^'^^  ^'^^^^  ^Ji'ch  had  joined  in  her 

t  This  biU  was  brought  in  bv  Mr  Pio„      j  • 


i, 


532 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


Jackson ;  and  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  in  the  question 
of  the  Tariff,  he  has  supported  tlie  rights  of  the  Union 
with  energy  and  skill.  I  think,  however,  that  the  con- 
duct  of  this  President  of  the  Federal  government  may 
be  reckoned  as  one  of  the  dangers  wliich  threaten  its 
continuance. 

Some  persons  in  Europe  have  formed  an  opinion  of  the 
influence  of  General  Jackson  upon  the  affairs  of  his  coun- 
try which  ai)pears  highly  extravagant  to  those  who  have 
seen  the  subject  nearer  at  hand.     We  have  been  told  that 
General  Jackson  has  won  battles ;  that  he  is  an  enero-etic 
man,  prone  by  nature  and  habit  to  the  use  of  force,  "Cov- 
etous of  power,  and  a  despot  by  inclination.     All  this  may 
be  true ;  but  the  inferences  which  have  been  drawn  from 
these  truths  are  very  erroneous.     It  has  been  imagined 
that  General  Jackson  is  bent  on  establishing  a  dictatol-ship 
in   America,  introducing  a  military  spirit,  and  giving  a 
degree  of  influence  to  the  central  authority  which  cannot 
but  be  dangerous  to  provincial  liberties.     But  in  America 
the  time  for  similar  undertakings,  and  the  age  for  men  of 
this  kind,  is  not  yet  come :  if  General  Jackson  had  thought 
of  exercising  his  authority  in  this  manner,  he  would  infalu- 
bly  have  forfeited  his  political  station,  and  compromised  his 
life,  — he  has  not  been  so  imprudent  as  to  attempt  any- 
thing of  the  kind. 

Far  from  wishing  to  extend  the  Federal  power,  the 
President  belongs  to  the  party  which  is  desirous  of  lim- 
iting that  power  to  the  clear  and  precise  letter  of  the 
Constitution,  and  which  never  puts  a  construction  upon 
that  act  favorable  to  the  government  of  the  Union  ;  far 
from  standing  forth  as  the  champion  of  centralization,  Gen- 
eral Jackson  is  the  agent  of  the  State  jealousies ;  and  he 
was  placed  in  his  lofty  station  by  the  passions  wliich  are 
most  opposed  to  the  central  government.  It  is  by  per- 
petually flattering  these  passions  that  he  maintains  his  sta- 


CHANCES   01    DURATION  OF   THE   UNION.  688 

t!on  and  his  pop„Iarity.      General  Jackson   is   tim  slave 

"eln.      ^""""^'-^y'  ""•>".  »'ieipates  aid  forestalls 
Whenever  the  governments  of  the  States  come  into  col- 

ouLn  .1  Tm""  •"'  "^  "•ghts,-he  almc?  a  rav^ 
oulstnps  the  eg>slature ;  and  «rhen  the  extent  of  the  Fed 
era]  power  is  controverted,  he  takes  part,  a  it  we^ 
agamst  hi,„aelf,_he  conceals  his  officii  nterel  Td 
labors  to  diminish  his  own  dignity.  Not,  indeoTttt  he 
«  naturaHy  weak  or  hostile  to  the  Unio; ;  for  when  th 

himself  at  their  head,  asserted  the  doctrines  which  the  L 
tion  held  distinctly  and  energetically,  and  was  the  fii^t  tt 
recommend  fo.e;  but  General  Jackson  appears  tote,  f 

Lran"dV  R  ^Tf"",''P""'™'  '"  "^  '  Federalist  by 
taste  and  a  Republican  by  calculation.  ' 

it,  Tf  f'^^^"f'^f'  '»  g"!"  the  favor  of  the  major- 
ity J  but  when  he  feels  that  his  popularity  is  secure  he 
everthrows  a  1  obstacles  in  the  pursuit  of  the  object  wiiih 
the  commumy  approves,  or  of  those  which  t  does  not 
regard  w,,h  jealousy.  Supported  by  a  power  which  W 
predecessors  never  had,  he  tramples  on  L  personal  enl 
mies,  whenever  they  cross  his  path,  with  a  facility  without 
example;  he  takes  upon  himself  the  responsibility  of  meas- 

attempt:  he  even  treats  the  national  representatives  with 
a  disdam  approaching  to  insult;  he  puts  his  veto  upon  the 
kws  of  Congress  and  frequently  neglects  even  to  reply 
to  tha  powerful  body  He  is  a  favorite  who  sometime^ 
ti^ats  his  master  roughly.  The  power  of  Gene.-al  Jackson 
peTietually  mcreases,  but  that  of  the  President  declines  • 
m  his  hands,  the  Federal  government  is  strong,  but  i  w  li" 
pass  enfeebled  into  the  hands  of  his  successor! 


riiit 


1!^ 


m 


634 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


I  am  Strangely  mistaken  if  the  Federal  government  of 
the  United  States  be  not  constantly  losing  strength,  retiring 
gradually  from  public  affairs,  and  narrowing  iTs  circle  of 
action.     It  is  natuially  feeble,  but  it  now  abandons  even 
the  appearance  of  strength.     On  the  other  hand,  I  thought 
that  I  remarked  a  more  lively  sense  of  independence,  and 
a  more  decided  attachment  to  their  separate  governments, 
m  the  States.    The  Union  is  desired,  but  only  as  a  shadow  ] 
they  wish  it  to  be  strong  in  certain  cases,  and  weak  in  all 
others ;  in  time  of  warfare,  it  is  to  be  able  to  concentrate 
all  the  forces  of  the  nation,  and  all  the  resources  of  the 
country,  in  its  hands ;  and  in  time  of  peace,  its  existence 
IS  to  be  scarcely  perceptible ;   as  if  this  alternate  debility 
and  vigor  were  natural  or  possible. 

I  do  not  see  anything  for  the  present  which  can  check 
this  general  tendency  of  opinion :  the  causes  in  which  it 
originated  do  not  cease  to  operate  in  the  same  direction. 
The  change  will  therefore  go  on,  and  it  may  be  predicted 
that,  unless  some  extraordinary  event  occurs,  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Union  will  grow  weaker  and  weaker  every 
day.  ^ 

I  think,  however,  that  the  period  is  still  remote,  at  which 
the  Federal  power  will  be  entirely  extinguished  by  its  ina- 
bility to  protect  itself,  and  to  maintain  peace  in  the  country. 
The  Union  is  sanctioned  by  the  manners  and  desires  of 
.ne  people;  its  results  are  palpable,  its  benefits  visible. 
When  it  is  perceived  that  the  weakness  of  the  Federal 
government  compromises  the  existence  of  the  Union,  I  do 
not  doubt  that  a  reaction  will  take  place  with  a  viLw  to 
increase  its  strength. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  is,  of  all  the  Fed- 
eral governments  which  have  hitherto  been  established,  the 
one  which  is  most  naturally  destined  to  act.  As  long  as  it 
is  only  indirectly  assailed  by  the  interpretation  of  its  laws, 
and  as  long  as  its  substance  is  not  seriously  impaired,  a 


fKOBABLE  UURATION   OF   THE   REPUULIO.  684 

Change  of  „pi„i„„  ,„  i„tem,|  .rf,,,^  „^  ^  ^^_._  ^^^  ^^^^^^ 
all  tl,«  vigor  which  ,t  requires.  What  I  have  bo'en  most 
anxious  to  establish  is  simply  this:  Many  people  in  France 
imagme  that  a  change  of  opinion  is  going  on  in  the  United 
States,  which  is  favorable  to  a  centralization  of  power  in 
the  hands  of  the  President  and  the  Congress.     I  hold  that 

.the  Federal  government,  as  it  grows  old,  from  acquir- 
mg  strength  and  from  threatening  the  sovereignty  of  the 
States,  that  I  maintain  it  to  be  growing  weakfr,  Ld  Z 
the  overeignty  of  the  Union  alone  is  in  dang^.  Such 
are  the  facts  which  the  present  time  discloses.  The  fUtu™ 
conc«ds  the  final  result  of  this  tendency,  and  the  ev^J 
which  may  check,  retard,  or  accelerate  the  changes  I  have 

Sfdts'thr  '"^  *" "- ""'» *»  — '  *«  -^ 


•ii! 


OF   THE  REPUBLICAN   INSTITUTIONS  OF  THE  UNITED   STATES 
AND    WHAT   THEIR   CHANCES   OF   DURATION    ake' 

The  Union  is  only  an  Accident.  -  Republican  Institutions  have  more  Per 
manence  -A  Republic  for  the  Present  is  the  natural  St^'o^re!^' 
glo-Amencans— Reason  of  this.-In  order  to  destroy  it  rthrr 
must  be  Changed  a.  the  same  Time,  and  a  great  11^'  plZ' 
m  Manners. -Difficulties  which  the  Americans  would  experiZl! 
creating  an  Aristocracy.  experience  in 

The  dismembennent  of  the  Union,  bj  introducing  war 
into  the  heart  of  those  States  which  are  now  confederTte 
wuhstandmg  armies,  a  dictatorship,  and  a  heavy  taxaTon,' 

tulns'T.  "^  "T""^  '^'  ''''  ''  -Publican  insti: 
tntions  But  we  ought  not  to  confound  the  future  pros- 
pacts  of  the  repubHc  with  those  of  the  Union.    The  Uni" 

IZ7^  "'^^'  r;"  ^"l^  ''-'  ''  ^^"^  -  circumstance 
favor  It;  but  a  repubhcan  form  of  government  seems  to 


536 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


me  the  natural  state  of  the  Americans,  which  nothing  but 
the  continued  action  of  hostile  causes,  always  acting  in  the 
«ame  direction,  could  change  into  a  monarchy.  The  Union 
exists  principally  in  the  law  which  formed  it ;  one  revolu- 
tion,  one  change  in  public  opinion,  might  destroy  it  for- 
ever; but  the  republic  has  a  deeper  foundation  to  rest 
upon. 

What  is  understood  by  a  republican  government  in  the 
United  States,  is  the  slow  and  quiet  action  of  society  upon 
Itself.     It  is  a  regular  state  of  things  really  founded  upon 
the  enlightened  will  of  the  people.      It  is  a  conciliatory 
government,  under  which  resolutions  are  allowed  time  to 
ripen;  and  in  which  they  are  deliberately  discussed,  and 
are  executed  only  when  mature.     The  republicans  in  the 
United  States  set  a  high  value  upon  morality,  respect  re- 
ligious belief,  and  acknowledge  the  existence   of   rights. 
They  profess  to  think  that  a  people  ought  to  ^     moral,* 
religious,  and  temperate,  in  proportion  as  it  is  free.     What 
is  called  the  republic  in  the  United  States  is  the  tranquil 
rule  of  the  majority,  which,  after  having  had  time  to  ex- 
amine itself,  and  to  give  proof  of  its  existence,  is  the  com- 
mon source  of  all  the  powers  of  the  State.    But  the  power 
of  the  majority  itself  is  not  unlimited.     Above  it,  in  the 
moral  world,  are  humanity,  justice,  and  reason;  and  in  the 
political  world,  vested   rights.      The   majority  recognizes 
these  two  barriers  ;  and  if  it  now  and  then  overstep  them, 
it  is  because,  Uke   individuals,  it  has  passions,  and,  hke 
them,  it  is  prone  to  do  what  is  wrong,  whilst  it  discerns 
what  is  right. 

But  the  demagogues  of  Europe  have  made  strange  dis- 
coveries. A  republic  is  not,  according  to  them,  the  rule 
of  the  majority,  as  has  hitherto  been  thought,  but  the  rule 
of  those  who  are  strenuous  partisans  of  the  majority.  It 
is  not  the  people  who  preponderate  in  this  kind  of  govern- 
ment, but  those  who  know  what  is  good  for  the  people;  — 


PROBABLE  DURATION  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  637 

a  happy  distinction,  which  allows  men  fn  o.f  •     *t, 
of  nations  without  consultinrim    and   to  "l        T' 
gratUude  whilst  their  rights  L  tLmJ  unde  Tot  'l 
republican  government,  moreover,  they  ho  d    i^  ll        , 

exercised  m  the  name  of  the  people.  ^ 

The  Ideas  which  the  Americans  have  adopted  r^spectin^ 
the  repubhc,  render  it  easy  for  them  to  Uve  und^  if^f 
msnre  its  duration.     With  them    if ,!,»         i^i-    ,     ' 

one  man  to  undertake  to  direct  the  details  of  their  e;irt 

of  n;„vi    T",  '■'  *•""'"'«  preeminently  the  cou„l' 
of  provmcial  and  municpal  government.     To  this  cauS^ 

il  to'thitrv^r^"^™""^  ''''■^''  -™-  °*-  p- 

At  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  the  North    Arv,.  • 

laws  as  well  as  the  manners  of  the  Eno-Hsh  an^l  fl,n 

rf'f^t'  ■:'  ""'  ""'^  -  "^  necessri  1h  :;  b«    aTa" 
benefit  which  they  knew  how  to  appreciate      W.  T 
^^y  seen  how  the  Colonies  were  CnTd ?  ev^'  p'^ 
mee,  and  almost  everr  district,  was  peopled  separuLrbr 
men  who  were  stingers  to  each  other.  L  were'  assJateJ 


!      I 


638 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


with  very  different  purposes.  The  English  settlers  in  the 
United  States,  therefore,  early  perceived  that  they  were 
divided  into  a  great  number  of  small  and  distinct  commu- 
nities, which  belonged  to  no  common  centre ;  and  that 
each  of  these  little  communities  must  take  care  of  its  own 
affairs,  since  there  was  not  any  central  authority  which 
was  naturally  bound  and  easily  enabled  to  provide  for 
them.  Thus,  the  nature  of  the  country,  the  manner  in 
which  the  British  Colonies  were  founded,  the  habits  of  the 
first  emigrants,  in  short,  everything,  united  to  promote, 
in  an  extraordinary  degree,  municipal  and  provincial  lib- 
erties. 

In  the  United  States,  therefore,  the  mass  of  the  institu 
tions  of  the  country  is  essentially  republican ;  and,  in  ordei 
permanently  to  destroy  the  laws  which  form  the  basis  of 
the  republic,  it  would  be  necessary  to  abolish  all  the  laws 
at  once.  At  the  present  day,  it  would  be  even  more  diffi- 
cult for  a  party  to  found  a  monarchy  in  the  United  States, 
than  for  a  set  of  men  to  convert  France  into  a  republic. 
Royalty  would  not  find  a  system  of  legislation  prepared 
for  it  beforehand ;  and  a  monarchy  would  then  really  exist, 
surrounded  by  repubfican  institutions.  The  monarchical 
principle  would  likewise  have  great  difficulty  in  penetrat- 
ing into  the  manners  of  the  Americans. 

In  the  United  States,  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  is 
not  an  isolated  doctrine,  bearing  no  relation  to  the  prevail- 
ing habits  and  ideas  of  the  people ;  it  may,  on  the  con- 
trary, be  regarded  as  the  last  link  of  a  chain  of  opinions 
which  binds  the  whole  Anglo-American  world.  That 
Providence  has  given  to  every  human  being  the  degree 
of  reason  necessary  to  direct  himself  in  the  affairs  which 
interest  him  exclusively,  is  the  grand  maxim  upon  which 
civil  and  political  society  rests  in  the  United  States.  The 
father  of  a  family  applies  it  to  his  children,  the  master  to 
his  servants,  the  township  to  its  officers,  the  province  to 


I 


PROBABLE  E  RATION  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


its  townships,  the  State  to  the 


539 
the 


IBS  the 


<5fofo„         j~'  T ""  '"  '"**  provinces,  the  Uni 

Stetes ;  and,  when  extended  to  the  nation,  it  be 
doctnne  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people. 

of  Ir  ^^!^^Uf  ^^  States,  the  fundamental  principle 
of  the  repubhc  is  the  same  which  governs  the  greater  na« 
of  human  actions  :  republican  nnf;^r,=  •  •  Sweater  part 
into  all  tho  i^.J      F.''^''  "f*^<^"s  insmuate  themselves 

-J«st  as  the  law  permits  eveiy  citizen  to  have  the  S 
of  choosing  his  own  government  ^ 

It  IS  evident  that  nothing  but  a  long  series  of  events  all 

bma  .on  of  laws,  opinions,  and  manne..,  a  mass  of  oppX 
opmions,  manners,  and  laws.  "Pposite 

If  republican  principles  a"re  to  perish  in  America  thev 
rupiea,  and  as  often  resumed  •  fhpv  w;n  i, 
ent  revivals,  and  wiU  not  t^mf  .:^,;rti:crLTa: 
exist,     ihere  is  no  symptom  or  nresao-P  nt  *hr. 
of  such  a  revolution/ There  is  no Zf  mrl  ^Ho 
.person  newly  arrived  in  the  United  S  IteT  han^X 
of  tumultuous  agitation  in  which  he  finds  political  socrety 
s^emsZ  »-;™-antly  changing,  and  at  fim  s'gh  t 
seems  impo^ible  that  a  people  so  fickle  in  its  desires  fhould 

new  form  of  government.    But  such  apprehensions  are  nrZ 
mature ;  the  instability  which  aftec  J^ical  institX 


n 


640 


DEMOCRACY   IN  AMERICA. 


IS 


of  two  kinds,  which  ought  not  to  be  confounded. 
The  first,  which  modifies  secondary  laws,  is  not  incom- 
patible with  a  very  settled  state  of  society.  The  other 
shakes  the  very  foundations  of  the  Constitution,  and  at- 
tacks the  fundamental  principles  of  legislation  ;  this  species 
of  instability  is  always  followed  by  troubles  and  revolu- 
tions, and  the  nation  which  suffers  under  it  is  in  a  violent 
and  transitory  state. 

Experience  shows  that  these  two  kinds  of  legislative  in- 
stability have  no  necessary  connection  ;  for  they  have  been 
found  united  or  separate,  according  to  times  and  circum- 
stances. The  first  is  common  in  the  United  States,  but 
not  the  second:  the  Americans  often  change  their  laws, 
but  the  foundations  of  the  Constitution  are  respected. 

In  our  days,  the  republican  principle  rules  in  America, 
as  the  mcnarchical  principle  did  in  France  under  Louis 
XIV.     The  Frejich  of  that  period  were  not  only  friends 
of  the  monarchy,  but  thought  it  impossible  to  put  anythincr 
in  its  place ;  they  received  it  as  we  receive  the  rays  of  the 
sun  and   the  return  of  the  seasons.     Amongst  them  the 
royal  power  had  neither  advocates  nor  opponents.     In  like 
manner  does  the  republican  government  exist  in  America, 
without  contention  or  opposition,  without  proofs  or  argu- 
ments, by  a  tacit  agreement,  a  sort  of  eomensus  universalia. 
It  is,  however,  my  opinion,  that,  by  changing  their  ad- 
ministrative foi-ms  as  often  as  they  do,  the  inhabitants  of 
the  United  States  compromise  the  stability  of  their  gov- 
ernment.    It  may  be  apprehended  that  men,  perpetually 
thwarted  in  their  designs  by  the  mutability  of  legislation, 
will  learn  to  look  upon  the  republic  as  an  inconvenient 
form  of  society ;  the  evil  resulting  ii-om  the  instability  of 
the  secondaiy  enactments  might  then  raise  a  doubt  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  indirectly  bring  about  a  revolution;    but  this 
epoch  is  still  very  remote. 


PROBABLE  DURATION   OF   THE  REPUBLIC. 


541 


It  may  be  foreseen  even  now,  that,  when  the  Americans 
lose  thei,'  republican  institutions,  they  will  speedily  arrive 
at  a  despotic  government,  without  a  long  interval  of  hm- 
ited  monarchy.     Montesquieu  remarked,  that  nothing  is 
more  absolute  than  the  authority  of  a  prince  who  imme- 
diately succeeds  a  repubUc,  since   the  indefinite   powers 
which  had  fearlessly  been  intrusted  to  an  elected  magis- 
trate are  then  transferred  to  an  hereditary  sovereign.    This 
is  true  in  general,  but  it  is  more  peculiarly  applicable  to  a 
democratic  republic.     In  the  United  States,  the  magistrates 
are  not  elected  by  a  particular  class  of  citizens,  but  by  the 
majority  of  the  nation ;  as  they  are  the  immediate  repre- 
sentatives of  the  passions  of  the  multitude,  and  are  wholly 
dependent  upon  its  pleasure,  they  excite  neither  hatred  nor 
fear:  hence,  as  I  have  already  shown,  very  little  care  has 
been  taken  to  limit  their  authority,  and  they  are  left  in 
possession  of  a  vast  deal  of  arbitrary  power.     This  state 
of  things  has  created  habits  which  would  outlive  itself;  the 
American  magistrate  would  retain  his  indefinite  power,  but 
would  cease  to  be  responsible  for  it ;  and  it  is  impossible  to 
say  what  bounds  could  then  be  set  to  tyranny. 

Some  of  our  European  politicians  expect  to  see  an  aris- 
tocracy arise  in  America,  and  ah-eady  predict  the  exact 
period  at  which  it  will  assume  the  reins  of  government.  I 
have  previously  Observed,  and  I  repeat  it,  that  the  present 
tendency  of  American  society  appears  to  me  to  become 
more  and  more  democratic.  Nevertheless,  I  do  not  assert 
that  the  Americans  will  not,  at  some  future  time,  restrict 
the  circle  of  political  rights,  or  confiscate  those  rights  to 
the  advantage  of  a  single  man  ;  but  I  cannot  beUeve  that 
they  will  ever  give  the  exclusive  use  of  them  to  a  privi- 
leged class  of  citizens,  or,  in  other  words,  that  they  will 
ever  found  an  aristocracy. 

An  aristocratic  body  is  composed  of  a  certain  number 
of  citizens,  who,  without  being  very  far  removed  from  the 


542 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


mass   of  the  people,  are,  nevertheless,  permanently  sta- 
tioned above  them;  — a  body  which  it  is  easy  to  touch, 
and  difficult  to  strike,  — with  which   the  people  are  in 
daily  contact,  but  with  which  they  can  never  combine. 
Nothing  can  be  imagined  more  contrary  to  nature  and  to 
the  secret  instincts  of  the  human  heart,  than  a  subjection 
of  this  kind ;  and  men  who  are  left  to  follow  their  own 
bent  will  always  prefer  the  arbitrary  power  of  a  king  to 
the  regular  administration  of  an  aristocracy.     Aristocratic 
institutions  cannot  subsist  without  laying  down  the  in- 
equality of  men  as  a  fundamental  principle,  legalizing  it 
beforehand,  and  introducing  it  into  the  family  as  well  as 
into  society;  but  these  are  things  so  repugnant  to  natural 
equity,  that  they  can  only  be  extorted  from  men  by  con. 
straint. 

I  do  not  think  a  single  people  can  be  quoted,  since 
human  society  began  to  exist,  which  has,  by  its  own  free 
will  and  its  own  exertions,  created  an  aristocracy  within 
its  own  bosom.     All  the  aristocracies  of  the  Middle  Ages 
were  founded  by  military  conquest;   the  conqueror  was 
the  noble,  the  vanquished  became  the  serf.      Inequality 
was  then  imposed  by  force ;  and  after  it  had  been  once 
introduced  into  the  manners  of  the  country,  it  maintained 
itself,  and  passed  naturally  into  the  laws.     Communities 
have  existed  which  were  aristocratic   from  their  earliest 
origin,  owing  to  circumstances  anterior  to  that  event,  and 
which  became  more  democratic  in  each  succeeding  age., 
Such  was  the  lot  of  the  Romans,  and  of  the  barbarians 
after  them.     But  a  people,  having  taken  its  rise  in  civili, 
zation  and  democracy,  which  should  gradually  establish 
inequality  of  condition,  until  it  arrived  at  inviolable  privi- 
leges and  exclusive  castes,  would  be  a  novelty  in  the  world; 
and  nothing  indicates  that  America  is  likely  to  be  the  fii-at 
to  furnish  such  an  example. 


COMMERCIAL  PBOSPEBITY   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES.    643 

«OME  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  COMMERCIAl 
PROSPERITY   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

The  Americans  destined  by  Nature  to  be  a  great  Maritime  People.  -  Extent 
of  their  Coa^te.  -Depth  of  their  Ports.-Size  of  their  Rive«.-  Th 
^ZZIV''  ^'  '''  Anglo-Americana  less  attributahie,  hot! 
-  ^of o'ftli  ^"?""^^T  *'^^"  ^  Moral  and  InteUectual  Causes. 
me«l  tT  n-  '^"-"^  °'  *'*  Anglo-Americans  as  a  Com- 
mercial Na  on.-The  Dissolution  of  the  Union  would  not  check  the 
Mantime  V.gor  of  the  States.  -  Reason  of  this.  -  Anglo-Americlns  w  U 
najj^jUl,  suppl,  the  Wants  of  the  Inhabitants  of  South'^t?^^^^ 
wiU^^become,  hke  the  English,  the  Factors  of  a  great  Portion  JfZ 

The  coast  of  the  United  States,  from  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
o  the  Sabuie  R.ver  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  is  more  than 
two  thousand  miles  m  extent.*  These  shores  form  an  mi- 
broken  hne,  and  are  all  subject  to  the  same  government. 
JNo  nation  m  the  world  possesses  vaster,  deeper,  or  more 
secure  ports  for  commerce  than  the  Americans. 

The^mhabitants  of  the  United  States  constitute  a  great 
civilized  people  which  fortune  has  placed  in  the  mickt  of 
an  uncultivated  country,  at  a  distance  of  three  thousand 
miles  from  the  central  point  of  civihzation.     America  con- 
sequently stands  in  daily  need  of  Europe.     The  Americans 
wiU,  no  doubt,  ultimately  succeed  in  producing  or  manu- 
factunng  at  home  most  of  the  articles  wliich  they  require  • 
but  the  two  continents  can  never  be  independent  of  each 
other,  so   numerous  are   the  natural   ties   between   thei, 
wan  s,  their  ideas,  their  habits,  and  their  manners. 

Ihe  Umon  has  peculiar  commodities  which  have  now 
become  necessaiy  to  us,  as  they  cannot  be  cultivated,  or 
can  b.  raised  only  at  an  enonnous  expense,  upon  the  soil 

tioL^^T  ^'"^^ ^''''"''y  *«  ''^^^  the  American  reader  that  the  annexa- 
^on  of  Texa.,  and  the  accession  of  Oregon  and  CaUfornia  on  the  Pacific,  sin^ 
Bl  de  Tocqueville  wrote,  have  made  this  coa.t-line  half  a.  long  agiin  1 


644 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


of  Eui'  pe.  The  Americans  consume  only  a  small  portion 
of  this  produce,  and  they  are  willing  to  sell  us  the  rest. 
Europe  is  therefore  the  market  of  America,  as  America  is 
the  market  of  Europe ;  and  maritime  commerce  is  no  less 
necessary  to  enable  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  to 
transport  their  raw  materials  to  the  ports  of  Europe,  than 
it  is  to  enable  us  to  supply  them  with  our  manufactured 
produce.  The  United  States  must  therefore  either  fur- 
nish much  business  to  other  maritime  nations,  even  if  they 
should  themselves  renounce  commerce,  as  the  Spaniards  of 
Mexico  have  hitherto  done,  or  they  must  become  one  of 
the  first  maritime  powers  of  the  globe. 

The  Anglo-Americans  have  always  displayed  a  decided 
taste  for  the  sea.  The  Declaration  of  Independence,  by 
breaking  the  commercial  bonds  which  united  them  to  Eng- 
land, gave  a  fresh  and  powerful  stimulus  to  their  maritime 
genius.  Ever  since  that  time,  the  shipping  of  the  Union 
has  increased  almost  as  rapidly  as  the  number  of  its  inhab- 
itants. The  Americans  themselves  now  transport  to  their 
own  shores  nine  tenths  of  the  European  produce  which 
they  consume.  And  they  also  bring  three  quarters  of  the 
exports  of  the  New  World  to  the  European  consumer. 
The  ships  of  the  United  States  fill  the  docks  of  Havre 
and  of  Liverpool,,  whilst  the  number  of  English  and 
French  vessels  at  New  York  is  comparatively  small. 

Thus,  not  only  does  the  American  merchant  brave  com 
petition  on  his  own  ground,  but  even  successfidly  supports 
that  of  foreign  nations  in  their  own  ports.  This  is  readily 
explained  by  the  fact,  that  the  vessels  of  the  United  States 
cross  the  seas  at  a  cheaper  rate.  As  long  as  the  mercantile 
shipping  of  the  United  States  preserves  this  superiority, 
it  will  not  only  retain  what  it  has  acquired,  but  will  con 
stantly  increase  in  prosperity. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  for  what  reason  the  Americans  can 
navigate  at  a  lower  rate  than  other  nations ;  one  is  at  first 


B 


V  -ela  cost  .iL^sZkJl  -f,""'  '"  T'"'  American 
not  better  built,  and  thergLlt  "  ""^  "" '  ""^  "" 
pay  of  tl.e  American  sliCl  HT  '  r'""  '"'»<'•  ^he 
pay  on  board  European  sis  "^Zt  .™"^''«''»ble  than  the 
"umber  of  Europeans  wh„  T^  I  w  '  T'''  ^^  "'«  S^' 
vessels  of  the  United  StateT  H  t""*^ '"  "">  '»^^'=''ant- 
the  Americans  sail  their  v^s'ls  ftT   l"''''™'  "'  ''""''  *"' 

.  superiority  must  „„t  be  "St  f  *'  '™''  "^^-^^  "f  their 
but  that  it  is  wholly  a  t^bulh,!;  '°  ^^^'^'^  advantages, 
qualities.  ^  attributable  to  moral  and  intellectual 

i>^;  t  XrrtfVe Vr '^  "^  — ^• 

introduced  a  new'^s;st  m  „ft%  °"'  ""'  ^'''^-^h 

which  perplexed  the  olZt  It  ?  '"'."  ""^  "^^  "^  ''ar, 
"royed  the  most  ancit"  ISi  rf' e''^  "^"'^  "- 
first  undertook  to  mate  shift   T^  ^"°P^-     They 

which  had  always  b^hdltT    "!?•  "  """''^^  "^  'Wn^ 
they  quired  Lei  exeftiolt   V';^?™^"^ '" -ariare^ 
civilized  nations  had  evraoulhf  fV""'^''  ^'■■'='»  "o 
actions  in  an  incredibly  Ihfrtf    '''^'  *«y  aehieved  great 
without  hesitation  t7„t^  T'  T-''  "^^-^  ''"""n  Ufe 
French  had  less  money  ^d  t      '""'  '"  ^'^'^^      The 
"ies ,   their  resources  "wereilfilLr^fe*"  '"^'^  ^"- 
less,  they  were  constantly  v;.t„  ■         ^     '^™"' '  neverthe- 
chose  to  imitate  their  exampr*  """'  *"''  ^<'™'^««» 

com^'mei""  d'o^lt^"-''  ^  r '"  ^^^n  i-f 
for  conquest.  The  Europt^s^T  "'''•  ""^  ^^^"^h  *<< 
dence;  he  sets  saU  oZ^Z  th  "  ""T"^  "'*  P™" 

'^»  unforeseen  aecide„f:^-Jr;t:L:;r:; 


546 


DEMOCBACY  IN  AMERICA. 


night,  he  furls  a  portion  of  his  canvas;  and  when  the 
whitening  billows  intimate  the  vicinity  of  land,  he  checks 
his  course,  and  takes  an  observation  of  the  sun.  The 
American  neglects  these  precautions,  and  braves  these  dan- 
gers. He  weighs  anchor  before  the  tempest  is  over ;  by 
night  and  by  day  he  spreads  his  sheets  to  the  wind ;  he 
repairs  as  he  goes  along  such  damage  as  his  vessel  may 
have  sustained  from  the  storm;  and  when  he  at  last 
approaches  the  term  of  his  voyage,  he  darts  onward  to 
the  shore  as  if  he  already  descried  a  port.  The  Ameri- 
cans are  often  shipwrecked,  but  no  trader  crosses  the  seas 
so  rapidly.  And,  as  they  perform  the  same  distance  in 
a  shorter  time,  they  can  perform  it  at  a  cheaper  rate. 

The  European  navigator  touches  at  different  ports  in  the 
course  of  a  long  voyage  ;  he  loses  precious  time  in  making 
the  harbor,  or  in  waiting  for  a  favorable  wind  to  leave  it ; 
and  he  pays  daily  dues  to  be  allowed  to  remain  there. 
The  American  starts  from  Boston  to  purchase  tea  in 
Chma :  he  arrives  at  Canton,  stays  there  a  few  days,  and 
then  returns.  In  less  than  two  years,  he  has  sailed  as  far 
as  the  entire  circumference  of  the  globe,  and  has  seen  land 
but  once.  It  is  true  that,  during  a  voyage  of  eight  or  ten 
months,  he  has  drunk  brackish  water,  and  Hved  upon  salt 
meat ;  that  he  has  been  in  a  continual  contest  with  the  sea, 
with  disease,  and  with  weariness  ;  but,  upon  his  return,  he 
can  sell  a  pound  of  his  tea  for  a  half-penny  less  than  the 
English  merchant,  and  his  purpose  is  accomplished. 

I  cannot  better  explain  my  meaning,  than  by  saying  that 
the  Americans  show  a  sort  of  heroism  in  their  manner  of 
trading.  The  Emropean  merchant  will  always  find  it  dif- 
ficult to  imitate  his  American  competitor,  who,  in  adopting 
the  system  which  I  have  just  described,  does  not  follow 
calculation,  but  an  impulse  of  his  nature. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  experience  all  the 
wants  and  all  the  desires  which  result  from  an  advanced 


COMMERCIAL   PROSPERITY   OF   THE  UNITED  STATES.    547 

civilization ;  and  as  they  are  not  surrounded,  as  in  Europe, 
by  a  community  skilfully  organized  to  satisfy  them,  they 
are  often  obliged  to  procure  for  themselves  the  various  arti- 
cles which  education  and  habit  have  rendered  necessaries. 
In  America,  it  sometimes  happens  that  the  same  person 
iiJIs  his  field,  builds  his  dwelling,  contrives  his  tools,  makes 
his  shoes,  and  weaves  the  coarse  stuff  of  which  his  dress  is 
composed.     This  is  prejudicial  to  the  excellence  of  the 
work,  but  It  powerfully  contributes  to  awaken  the  inteUi- 
gence  of  the  workman.     Nothing  tends  to  materialize  man, 
and  to  deprive  his  work  of  the  faintest  trace  of  mind,  more 
than  the  extreme  division  of  labor.     In   a  countiy  like 
Amenca    where  men  devoted  to  special  occupations  are 
rare,  a  long  apprenticeship  cannot  be  required  from  any 
one  who  embraces  a  profession.     The  Americans  therefore 
change  their  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood  very  readily, 
and  they  suit  their  occupations  to  the  exigencies  of  the  mo- 
ment.    Men  are  to  be  met  with  who  have  successively  been 
lawyers,  farmers,  merchants,  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and 
physicians.     If  the  American  be  less  perfect  in  each  craft 
than  the  European,  at  least  there  is  scarcely  any  trade  with 
which  he  is  utterly  unacquainted.     His  capacity  is  more 
general,  and  the  circle  of  his  inteUigence  is  greater. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  are  never  fettered 
by  the  axioms  of  their  profession  ;  they  escape  from  all  the 
prejudices  of  their  present  station  ;  they  are  not  more  at- 
tached to  one  line  of  operation  than  to  another ;  they  are 
not  more  prone  to  employ  an  old  method  than  a  new  one  : 
they  have  no  rooted  habits,  and  they  easily  shake  ofi"  the 
mfluence  which  the  habits  of  other  nations  might  exercise 
upon  them,  from  a  conviction  that  their  country  is  unhke 
Bny  other,  and  that  its  situation  is  without  a  precedent  in 
the  world.     America  is  a  land  of  wonders,  in  which  every- 
thmg  IS  m  constant  motion,  and  every  change  seems  an 
improvement.     The  idea  of  novelty  is  thore  indissolubly 


I 


548 


DEMOCRACV   IN   AMERICA. 


connected  with  tlie  idea  of  amelioration.  No  natural 
boundary  seems  to  be  set  to  tlie  efforts  of  man  ;  and,  in 
his  eyes,  what  is  not  yet  done  is  only  what  he  has  not  yet 
attempted  to  do. 

This   perpetual   change  which  goes  on  in  the  United 
States,  these   frequent  vicissitudes   of  fortune,  these  un- 
foreseen fluctuations  in  private  and  public  wealth,  serve 
to  keep  the  minds  of  the  people  in  a  perpetual  feverish 
agitation,  which  admirably  invigorates  their  exertions,  and 
keeps  them,  so  to  speak,  above  the  ordinary  level  of  hu- 
manity.    The  whole  life  of  an  American  is  passed  like  a 
game  of  chance,  a  revolutionary  crisis,  or  a  battle.     As 
the  same  causes  are  continually  in  operation  throughout 
the  country,  they  ultimately  impart  an  irresistible  impulse 
to  the   national   character.      The  American,  taken   as  a 
chance  specimen  of  his  countrymen,  must  then  be  a  man 
of  singular  warmth  in  his  desires,  enterprising,  fond  of 
adventure,  and,  above  all,  of  novelty.     The  same  bent  is 
manifest  in  all  that  he  does  :  he  introduces  it  into  his  polit- 
ical laws,  his  religious  doctrines,  his  theories  of  social  econ- 
omy, and  his  domestic  occupations ;  he  bears  it  with  him 
in  the  depth  of  the  backwoods,  as  well  as  in  the  business 
of  the  city.     It  is  this  same  passion,  apphed  to  maritime 
commerce,  which  makes  him  the  cheapest  and  the  quickest 
trader  in  the  world. 

As  long  as  the  sailors  of  the  United  States  retam  these 
mental  advantages,  and  the  practical  superiority  which  they 
derive  from  them,  they  will  not  only  cor  *  .ue  to  supply  the 
wants  of  the  producers  and  consumers  ot  their  own  coun- 
try, but  they  will  tend  more  and  more  to  become,  like  the 
EngUsh,  the  factors  of  other  nations.*     This  prediction  has 

*  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  English  vessels  are  exclusively  employed 
in  transporting  foreign  produce  into  England,  or  British  produce  to  foreign 
countries  :  at  the  present  day,  the  merchant  shipping  of  England  may  be 
regarded  in  the  light  of  a  vast  system  of  public  conveyances,  ready  to  serve 


COMMERCIAL  PROSPEBITY   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES.    649 

already  begun  to  be  realized  ;  we  perceive  that  the  Amer- 
ican  traders   are  introducing  themselves   as   intermediate 
.     agents  m  the  commerce  of  several  European  nations ;  •  and 
America  will  offer  a  still  wider  field  to  their  enterprise. 

The  great  colonies  which  were  founded  in  South  Amer- 
ica by  the  Spaniards  and  the  Portuguese  have  since  become 
empires.     Civil  war  and  oppression  now  lay  waste  those 
extensive  regions.     Population  does  not  increase,  and  the 
thinly  scattered  inhabitants  are  too  much  absorbed  in  the 
cares  of  self-defence  even  to  attempt  any  amelioration  of 
their  condition.     But  it  will  not  always  be  so.     Europe 
has  succeeded  by  her  own  efforts  in  piercing  the  gloom  of 
he  Middle  Ages.     South  America  has  the  same  Christian 
laws  and  usages  as  we  have  ;  she  contains  all  the  germs  of 
civilization  which  have  grown  amidst  the  nations  of  Europe 
or  their  offsets,  added  to  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
our  example:  why,  then,  should  she  always  remain  unciv- 
ilized ?     It  is  clear  that  the  question  is  simply  one  of  time  • 
at  some  future  period,  which  may  be  more  or  less  remote! 
the  inhabitants  of  South  America  will  form  flourishing  and 
enhghtened  nations. 

But  when  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese  of  South  Amer- 
ica begin  to  feel  the  wants  common  to  all  civilized  nations, 
they  will  still  be  unable  to  satisfy  those  wants  for 'them- 
selves ;  as  the  youngest  children  of  civihzation,  they  must 
perforce  admit  the  superiority  of  their  elder  brethren. 
Ihey  will  be  agriculturists  long  before  they  succeed  in 
manufactures  or  commerce  ;  and  they  will  require  the  me^ 
diation  of  strangers  to  exchange  their  produce  beyond  seas 
tor  those  articles  for  which  a  demand  will  begin  to  be  felt. 

It  is  unquestionable  that  the  Americans  of  the  North 

aU  the  producers  of  the  world,  and  to  open  communications  between  all  na- 
tions.  The  maritime  genius  of  the  Americans  prompts  them  to  enter  into 
competition  with  the  English. 

*  Part  of  the  commerce  of  the  MediteiTanean  is  already  carried  on  hy 
American  vessels. 


550 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


.^1 


will  one  day  be  called  upon  to  supply  the  wants  of  the 
Americans  of  the  South.    Nature  has  placed  them  in  con- 
tiguity, and  has  furnished  the  former  with  every  means  of 
knowing  and  appreciating  those  demands,  of  establishing 
permanent  relations  with  those  States,  and  gradually  filling 
their  markets.     The  merchant  of  the  United  States  could 
only  forfeit  these  natural  advantages  if  he  were  very  infe- 
rior to  the  merchant  of  Europe ;  but  he  is  superior  to  him 
in  several  respects.     The  Americans  of  the  United  States 
already  exercise  a  great  moral  influence  upon  all  the  na- 
tions of  the  New  World.     They  are  the  source  of  intelli- 
gence ;  and  all  those  who  inhabit  the  same  continent  are 
already  accustomed  to  consider  them  as  the  most  enhght- 
ened,  the  most  powerful,  and  the  most  wealthy  members 
of  the  great  American  family.     All  eyes  are  therefore 
turned  towards  the  United  States :  these  are  the  models 
which  the  other  communities  try  to  imitate  to  the  best  of 
their  power ;  it  is  from  the  Union  that  they  borrow  their 
political  principles  and  their  laws. 

The  Americans  of  the  United  States  stand  in  precisely 
the  same  position  with  regard  to  the  South  Americans  as 
their  fathers,  the  English,  occupy  with  regard  to  the  Ital- 
ians, the  Spaniards,  the  Portuguese,  and  all  those  nations 
of  Europe  which  receive  their  articles  of  daily  consump- 
tion from  England,  because  they  are  less  advanced  in  civil- 
ization and  trade.  England  is  at  this  time  the  natural 
emporium^  of  almost  all  the  nations  which  are  within  its 
reach;  the  American  Union  will  perform  the  same  part 
in  the  other  hemisphere ;  and  every  community  which  is 
founded  or  which  prospers  in  the  New  World,  is  founded 
and  prospers  to  the  advantage  of  the  Anglo-Americans. 

If  the  Union  were  to  be  dissolved,  the  commerce  of 
the  States  which  now  compose  it  would  undoubtedly  be 
checked  for  a  time ;  but  less  than  one  would  think.  It  is 
evident  that,  whatever  may  happen,  the  commercial  State? 


FUTURE  PROSPECTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.    551 

wiU  remain  united.     They  are  contiguous,  they  have  the 
same  opmions,  interests,  and  manners;   and  they  alone 
form  a  great  maritime  power.    Even  if  the  South  of  the 
Union  were  to  become  independent  of  the  North,  it  would 
BfaU  require  the  services  of  those  States.     I  have  already 
observea  that  the  South  is  not  a  commercial  country,  and 
notWng  indicates  that  it  will  become  so.     The  Americans 
of  the  South  of  the  United  States  wiU  therefore  long  be 
obhged  to  have  recourse  to  strangers  to  export  their  pro- 
duce, and  supply  them  with  the  commodities  which  satisfy 
then:  wants.     But  the  Northern  States  are  undoubtedly 
able  to  act  as  their  intermediate  agents  cheaper  than  any 
other  merchants.     They  will  therefore  retain  that  employ- 
ment, for  cheapness  is  the  sovereign  law  of  commerce, 
bovereign  will  and  national  prejudices  cannot  long  resist 
the  mfluence  of  cheapness.     Nothing  can  be  more  virulent 
^an  the  hatred  which  exists  between  the  Americans  of  the 
Umted  States  and  the  English.     But  in  spite  of  these 
hostile  feeUngs,  the  Americans  derive  most  of  their  manu- 
fectured  commodities  from  England,  because  England  sup- 
phes  them  at  a  cheaper  rate  than  any  other  nation.     Thu% 
the  increasing  prosperity  of  America  turns,  notwithstand 
mg  the  grudge  of  the  Americans,  to  the  advantage  of 
British  manufactures. 

Reason  and  experience  prove  that  no  commercial  pros- 
penty  can  be  durable  if  it  cannot  be  united,  in  case  of 
need,  to  naval  force.  This  truth  is  as  well  understood  in 
the  Umted  States  as  ai^y where  else :  the  Americans  are> 
already  able  to  make  their  flag  respected;  in  a  few  yeai-s 
they  wiU  make  it  feared.  I  am  convinced  that  the  dis- 
memberment of  the  Union  would  not  have  the  effect  of 
<iiminishing  the  naval  power  of  the  Americans,  but  would 
powerfully  contribute   to  increase  it.*     At  present,  the 

_  •  This  prophecy  has  already  been  fulfilled  in  a  remarkable  manner  by 
the  great  struggle  which  is  now  going  on  between  the  North  and  the  South. 
—  Ah.  Ed, 


552 


DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA. 


commercial  States  are  connected  with  others  which  are 
not  commercial,  and  which  unwillingly  behold  the  increase 
of  a  maritime  power  by  which  they  are  only  indirectly 
benefited.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  commercial  States  of 
the  Union  formed  one  and  the  same  nation,  commerce 
would  become  the  foremost  of  then-  national  interests: 
they  would  consequently  be  wilUng  to  make  great  sacri- 
fices to  protect  their  shipping,  and  nothing  would  prevent 
them  from  pursuing  their  desires  upon  this  point. 

Nations,  as  well  as  men,  almost  always  betray  the  prom- 
inent features  of  their  future  destiny  in  their  earliest  years. 
When  I  contemplate  the  ardor  with  which  the  Anglo- 
Americans  prosecute  commerce,  the  advantages  which  aid 
them,  and  the  success  of  their  undertakings,  I  cannot  help 
believing  that  they  will  one  day  become  the  first  maritime 
power  of  the  globe.  They  are  bom  to  rule  the  seas,  as 
the  Romans  were, to  conquer  the  world. 


CONCLUSION. 

I  AM  approaching  the  close  of  my  inquiry:  hitherto,  in 
speaking  of  the  future  destiny  of  the  United  States,  I  have 
endeavored  to  divide  my  subject  into  distinct  portions,  in 
order  to  study  each  of  them  with  more  attention.     My 
present  object  is  to  embrace  the  whole  from  one  point  of 
view;  the  remarks  I  shall  make  will  be  less  detailed,  but 
they  will  be  more  sure.     I  shall  perceive  each  object  less 
distinctly,  but  I  shaU  descry  the  principal  facts  with  more 
certainty.     A  traveller,  who  has  just  left  a  vast  city,  climbs 
the  neighboring  hill;  as  he  goes  farther  off,  he  loses  sight 
of  the  men  whom  he  has  just  quitted ,  their  dweUings  are 
confused  in  a  dense  mass;  he  can  no  longer  distinguish 
the  public  squares,  and  can  scarcely  trace  out  the  great 
thoroughfares;  but  his  eye  has  less  difficulty  in  following 


FUTURE  PEOSPECTS   OF  THE  UOTTED  STATEa  658 

iJie  boundaries  of  the  city,  and  for  the  first  time  he  sees 
Ae  shape  „f  the  whole.  Such  is  the  toure  destiny  of  Z 
Bnt.sh  race  in  North  America  to  my  eye,  the  detl  „f 
the  immense  picture  are  lost  in  the  shade,  Lut  I  oT^i™ 
a  clear  idea  of  the  entire  subject.  conceive 

The  territory  now  occupied  or  possessed  by  the  United 
States  of  America  forms  about  one  twentieth^part  of  Ae 
habitable  earth.  But  extensive  as  these  bounds  are  il 
must  not  be  supposed  that  the  Angl<^American  racT;i^ 

^ell'Frerh'  '™^  "''»-«  '^^  -gh'  W  created  a 
great  French  nation  m  the  American  wilds,  to  counter 

fl„3"   -I^   f'^^^S'^^^t  rivers  of  that  continent  then 
flowed  withm  her  dominions.     The  Indian  tribes  wluch 

delta  of  the  Mississippi  were  unaccustomed  to  any  other 

S^vt'thr'  ='"<• '^  ">.«  ^-P-  settleme/ts  sc" 
tered  over  that  immense  region  recalled  the  traditions  of 
ourco  t,y.  Lou^burg  Montmorency,  Duquesne  slt 
Louis  Vincennes,  New  Orleans,  (for  such  were  the  nam« 
*ey  bore,)  are  words  dear  to  France  and  familiar  toT,^ 
Cars* 

But  a  course  of  circumstances,  which  it  would  be  tedious 
0  enumerate,,  have  deprived  us  of  this  magnificent   „h" 
itance.     Wherever  the  French  settle,    w^-e  numenca^v 
weak  and  partiaUy  estabhshed,   they  have  disarpTred  : 

uau  any  othere  to  found  prosperons  colonies.     The  habit  of  thJr,Ur, 
governing  for  one's  self  is  indispensable  in  a  new  coun^    1  ^  ""* 

cessarily  denenda  i«  «  „,»  *  country,  where  success  n©. 

settC    ^  ^  ''*  "^^"^  "P"'^  ^''^  '°^-^d«-'  exertions  of  th. 


654 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


those  who  remain  are  coUected  on  a  smaU  extent  of  coun- 
fay,  and  are  now  subject  to  other  laws.     The  400,000 
French  inhabitants  of  Lower  Canada  constitute   at  the 
present  time  the  remnant  of  an  old  nation  lost  in  the 
midst  of  a  new  people.    A  foreign  population  is  increas- 
mg  around  them  unceasingly  and  on  all  sides,  who  ah-eady 
penetrate  amongst  the  former  masters  of  the  country,  pr^ 
dominate  in  their  cities,  and  corrupt  their  language.     This 
population  is  identical  with  that  of  the  United  States  •  it 
IS  therefore  with  truth  that  I  asserted  that  the  British  race 
IS  not  confined  within  the  frontiers  of  the  Union,  since  it 
already  extends  to  the  northeast. 

^    To  the  northwest,  nothing  is  to  be  met  with  but  a  few 
msignificant  Russian  settlements ;  but  to  the  southwest 
Mexico  presents  a  barrier  to  the  Anglo-Americans.     Thus' 
the    Spaniards  and    the  Anglo-Americans  are,  properly 
speaking,  the  two  races  which  divide  the  possession  of  the 
New  World.     The  limits  of  separation  between  them  have 
been  settled  by  treaty;  but  although  the  conditions  of  that 
treaty  are  favorable  to  the  Anglo-Americans,  I  do  not 
doubt  that  they  wiU  shortly  infringe  it.     Vast  provinces, 
extendmg  beyond  the  frontiers  of  the  Union  towards  Mex- 
ico, are  still  destitute  of  inhabitants.     The  natives  of  the 
United  States  wiU  people  these  sohtaiy  regions  before  their 
nghtfiil  occupants.     They  will  take  possession  of  the  soU 
and  establish  social  institutions,  so  that,  when  the  legal 
owner  at  length  arrives,  he  wiU  find  the  wilderness  under 
cultivation,  and  strangers  quietly  settled  in  the  midst  of 
his  inheritance. 

The  lands  of  the  New  World  belong  to  the  first  occu- 
pant ;  they  are  the  natural  reward  of  the  swiftest  pioneer. 
Even  the  countries  which  are  already  peopled  will  have 
some  difficulty  in  securing  themselves  from  this  invasion. 
I  have  abeady  aUuded  to  what  is  taking  place  in  the  prov- 
nice  of  Texas.     The  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  are 


FUTURE  PROSPECTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.    555 

ITIT^  ff^'^^  *"  ^'^^'  ^^^^^  *hey  purchase  land ; 
and  although  they  conform  to  the  laws  of  the  countiy,  the^ 
are  gradually  founding  the  empire  of  their  own  laTguage 

Zt  '^;Y"m"''""'"-*  ^^'  P^°^^^«  «f  Texas  f  stil 
part  of  the  Mexican  dominions,  but  it  will  soon  contain 
no  Mexicans  J  the  same  thing  has  occurred  wherever  the 

^^^r^Z^'  ''-'  '''^'  ^^  ^^"^*  -''^  ^  P-P^e  of  a 
It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  British  race  has  acquired  an 
ama^ng  preponderance  over  all  other  European  races  in 
he  New  World;  and  it  is  very  superior  to  them  in  civil- 
c^ation  industry,  and  power.  As  long  as  it  is  surromided 
only  by  desert  or  thinly-peopled  countries,  as  long  as  it 
encounters  no  dense  population  upon  its  route,  through 

spread.     The  hues  marked  out  by  treaties  will  not  stop  it: 
but  It  wiU  everywhere  overleap  these  imaginary  barriers. 

The  geographical  position  of  the  British  race  in  the  New 
World  IS  peculiarly  favorable  to  its  rapid  increase.  Above 
Its  northern  frontiers  the  icy  regions  of  the  Pole  extend- 
and  a  few  degrees  below  its  southern  confines  lies  the  bum-' 
mg  cWe  of  the  Equator.  The  Anglo-Americans  are 
therefore  placed  m  the  most  temperate  and  habitable  zone 
of  the  continent. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  prodigious  increase  of 
population  in  the  United  States  is  posterior  to  their  Decla- 
ration  of  Independence.  But  this  is  an  error:  the  popu- 
ation  increased  as  rapidly  under  the  colonial  system  as  at 
the  present  day ;  that  is  to  say,  it  doubled  in  about  twenty- 
two  years.  But  this  proportion,  which  is  now  applied  to 
miUions,  was  then  apphed  to  thousands,  of  inhabitants; 
and  the  same  fact,  which  was  scarcely  noticeable  a  century 
ago,  IS  now  evident  to  every  observer. 

lexM  fiiMIIed  this  prophecy.  —Am.  Ed. 


556 


DEMOCRACY  IN   AMERICA. 


The  English  in  Canada,  who  are  dependent  on  a  king 
augment  and  spread  almost  as  rapidly  as  the  British  settlers 
of  the  United  States,  who  live  under  a  republican  govern- 
ment.    During   the  war  of  Independence,  which  lasted 
eight  years,  the  population  continued  to  increase  without 
mtermission  in  the  same  ratio.     Although  powerful  Indian 
nations  allied  with  the  EngUsh  existed,  at  that  time,  upon 
the  western  frontiers,  the  emigration  westward  was  never 
checked.     Whilst  the  enemy  laid  waste  the  shores  of  the 
Atlantic,  Kentucky,  the  western  parts  of  Pennsylvania 
and  the  States  of  Vermont  and  of  Maine,  were  filling  with 
mhabitants.    Nor  did  the  unsettled  state  of  things  which 
succeeded  the  war  prevent  the  increase  of  the  population, 
or  stop  Its  progress  across  the  wilds.     Thus,  the  difference 
of  laws,  the  various  conditions  of  peace  and  war,  of  order 
or  anarchy,  have  exercised  no  perceptible  influence  upon 
the  continued  development  of  the  Anglo-Americans.    This 
may  be  readily  understood,  for  no  causes  are  sufficiently 
general  to  exercise  a  simultaneous  influence  over  the  whole 
of  so  extensive  a  territory.     One  portion  of  the  countnr 
always  offers  a  sure  retreat  from  the  calamities  which  afflict 
another  part;   and  however  great  may  be  the  evil,  the 
remedy  which  is  at  hand  is  greater  still. 

It  must  not,  then,  be  imagined  that  the  impulse  of  the 
British  race  in  the  New  World  can  be  arrested.  The  dis- 
memberment of  the  Union,  and  the  hostilities  which  might 
ensue,  the  abohtion  of  repubhcan  institutions,  and  the  ty- 
rannical government  which  might  succeed,  may  retard  this 

TF^v      ^""^  *^^^  ''^"''*  P'"^''^"*  ^^  P^^P^e  fro°i  ultunately 
fulfilling  their  destinies.     No  power  upon  earth  can  shut 

out  the  emigi-ants  from  that  fertile  wilderness  which  offers 
resources  to  all  industry,  and  a  refuge  from  all  want.  Fu- 
ture events,  whatever  they  may  be,  wiU  not  deprive  the 
Americans  of  their  climate  or  their  inland  seas,  their  great 
nvers  or  their  exuberant  soil.     Nor  will  bad  laws,  revo- 


FUTURE  PROSPECTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.    557 

lutions,  and  auarcliy  be  able  to  obHterate  that  love  of 
prosperity  and  spint  of  enterprise  which  seem  to  be  the 
distinctive  characteristics  of  their  race,  or  extinguish  al- 
together the  knowledge  which  guides  them  on  their  way. 

Thus,  in  the  midst  of  the  uncertain  future,  one  event  at 
least  is  sure.     At  a  period  which  may  be  said  to  be  near, 
—  for  we  are  speaking  of  the  life  of  a  nation,—  the  Ando- 
Americans  alone  will  cover  the  immense  space  contained 
between  the  polar  regions  and  the  tropics,  extending  from 
the  coasts  of  the  Atlantic  to  those  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
The  territory  which   will  probably  be   occupied  by  the 
Anglo-Americans  may  perhaps   equal   three   quarters   of 
Europe  m  extent.     The  climate  of  the  Union  is,  upon  the 
whole,  preferable  to  that  of  Europe,  and  its  natural  advan- 
tages are  as  great ;  it  is  therefore  evident  that  its  population 
will  at  some  future  time  be  proportionate  to  our  own.    Eu- 
rope, divided  as  it  is  between  so  many  nations,  and  torn  as 
It  has  been  by  incessant  wars  growing  out  of  the  barbarous 
manners  of  the  Middle  Ages,  has  yet  attained  a  population 
of  410  mhabitants  to  the  square  league.     What  cause  can 
prevent  the  United  States  from  having  as  numerous  a  pop- 
ulation in  time  ? 

Many  ages  must  elapse  before  the  different  offsets  of 
the  Bntish  race  in  America  wiU  cease  to  present  the  same 
physiognomy ;  and  the  time  cannot  be  foreseen  at  which  a 
permanent  inequahty  of  condition  can  be  established  in  the 
New  World.     Whatever  differences  may  arise,  from  peace 
or  war,  freedom  or  oppression,  prosperity  or  want,  between 
the  destimes  of  the  different  descendants  of  the  great  An- 
glo-American family,  they  will  all  preserve  at  least  a  simi- 
lar social  condition,  and  will  hold  in  common  the  customs 
and  opimons  to  which  that  social  condition  has  given  birth. 
In  the  Middle  Ages,  the  tie  of  rehgion  was  sufficiently 
powerful  to  unite  all  the  different  populations  of  Europe 
in  the  same  civilization.     The  British  of  the  New  World 


558 


DEMOCBACY  IN  AMERICA. 


have  a  thousand  other  reciprocal  ties  j   and  they  live  at 
a  time  when  the  tendency  to  equality  is  general  amongst 
mankind.     The  Middle  Ages  were  a  period  when  every- 
thing was  broken  up,  ~  when  each  people,  each  province, 
each  city,  and  each  family  tended  strongly  to  maintain  its 
distinct  individuality.     At  the  present  time,  an  opposite 
tendency  seems  to  prevail,  and  the  nations  seem  to  be  ad- 
vancing to  unity.     Our  means  of  intellectual  intercourse 
unite  the  remotest  parts  of  the  earth  ;  and  men  cannot 
remain  strangers  to  each  other,  or  be  ignorant  of  what  is 
taking  place  in  any  corner  of  the  globe.     The  consequence 
is,  that  there  is  less  diflPerence  at  the  present  day  between 
the  Europeans  and  their  descendants  in  the  New  World, 
in  spite  of  the  ocean  which  divides  them,  than  there  was 
between  certain  towns  in  the  thirteenth  century,  which 
were  separated  only  by  a  river.    If  this  tendency  to  as- 
similation brings  foreign  nations  closer  to  each  other,  it 
must  a  foHiori  prevent  the  descendants  of  the  same  peo- 
ple from  becoming  aliens  to  each  other. 

The  time  will  therefore  come,  when  one  hundred  and 
fifty  millions  of  men  will  be  living  in  North  America,* 
equal  in  condition,  all  belonging  to  one  family,  owing  their 
origin  to  the  same  cause,  and  preserving  the  same  civiliza- 
tion, the  same  language,  the  same  religion,  the  same  habits, 
the  same  manners,  and  imbued  with  the  same  opinions, 
propagated  under  the  same  forms.  The  rest  is  uncertain, 
but  this  is  certain  ;  and  it  is  a  fact  new  to  the  world,  —  a 
fact  which  the  imagination  strives  in  vain  to  grasp. 

There  are  at  the  present  time  two  great  nations  in  the 
world,  which  started  from  different  points,  but  seem  to  tend 
towards  the  same  end.  I  allude  to  the  Russians  and  the 
Americans.    Both  of  them  have  grown  up  unnoticed; 

♦  This  would  be  a  population  proportionate  to  tliat  of  Europe,  taken  at  a 
mean  rate  of  410  inhabitants  to  the  square  league. 


FUTURE  PROSPECTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.    659 

and  whilst  the  attention  of  mankind  was  directed  else- 
where, they  have  suddenly  placed  themselves  in  the  front 
rank  among  the  nations,  and  the  world  learned  their  exist- 
ence and  their  greatness  at  almost  the  same  time. 

All  other  nations  seem  to  have  nearly  reached  their  nat- 
ural hmits,  and  they  have  only  to  maintain  their  power; 
but  these  are  still  i„  the  act  of  growth.*    All  the  others 
have  stopped,  or  continue  to  advance  with  extreme  diffi- 
culty ;  these  alone  are  proceeding  with  ease  and  celerity 
aJong  a  path  to  which  no  limit  can  be  perceived.     The 
American  struggles  against  the  obstacles  which  nature  op- 
poses to  him;   the  adversaries  of  the  Russian  are  men. 
rhe  former  combats  the  wilderness  and  savage  hfe ;  the 
latter,_civihzation  with  all  its  arms.     The  conquests  of  the 
Amenc^  are  therefore  gained  by  the  ploughshare ;  those 
of  the  Russian  by  the  sword.     The  Anglo-American  re- 
hes  upon  personal  interest  to  accomphsh  his  ends,  and  gives 
free  scope  to  the  unguided  strength  and  common  senfe  of 
the  peop  e ;  the  Russian  centres  all  the  authority  of  society 
ma  single  arm      The  principal  instrument  of  the  former 

^W       . '    A  *\'   ''''''  '''^'''^''    Their  starting-point 
IS  different,  and  their  courses  are  not  the  same;  yft  each 

of  them  seems  marked  out  by  the  wiU  of  Heaven  to  swav 
the  destmies  of  half  the  globe. 


END   OF   VOL.  I. 


